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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: King Canyon


Kings Canyon National Park is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range, south of Yosemite and directly north of and adjoining Sequoia National Park. The park features a number of scenic wonders, including some of the largest trees in the world, one of the deepest canyons in the U.S., and some of the highest mountain peaks in the contiguous 48 states. Over 2,000,000 people per year visit Kings Canyon and Sequoia parks.

Kings Canyon National Park currently consists of two distinct portions. The larger area to the east encompasses the vast majority of the land in the park, including the Kings River and canyon and the High Sierra including several mountains in excess of 14,000 feet. There is a small western portion of the park in the Redwood Canyon/Grant Grove area which contains the original park's land all of the parks giant sequoia trees. Most of the land within the park is wilderness and accessible only by trail.
Over 2,000,000 people per year visit Kings Canyon and Sequoia parks One of the most noteworthy features of the park is the canyon and valley of the Kings River. Although the canyon is very narrow just outside the borders of the park, within the park it has been carved into a broader U-shape by glaciers. The floor of the valley is covered by forests, meadows, and is bisected by the Kings River itself. The appearance of the valley is reminiscent of the Yosemite Valley to the north; John Muir himself called it "a rival to Yosemite." However, the sides of the cliffs are not as smooth and have a flaky appearance.

To the east of the canyons are the high peaks of the Sierra Crest culminating in 14,248-foot high North Palisade, the highest point in the park. This is classic high Sierra country: barren alpine ridges and glacially scoured lake-filled basins. Usually snow free only from late June until late October, the high country is accessible only via foot and horse trails. The Sierran crest forms the eastern boundary of the park, from Mount Goethe in the north, down to Junction Peak, at the boundary with Sequoia National Park. Several passes cross the crest into the park, including Bishop Pass, Taboose Pass, Sawmill Pass, and Kearsarge Pass. All of these passes are above 11,000 feet elevation.
Kings Canyon had been known to white settlers since the mid-19th century, but it was not until John Muir first visited in 1873 that the canyon began receiving attention. Muir was delighted at the canyon's similarity to Yosemite Valley, as it reinforced his theory regarding the origin of both valleys, which, though competing with Josiah Whitney's then-accepted theory that the spectacular mountain valleys were formed by earthquake action, Muir's theory later proved correct: that both valleys were carved by massive glaciers during the last Ice Age.

Then United States Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes fought to create the Kings Canyon National Park. He hired Ansel Adams to photograph and document this among other parks, in great part leading to the passage of the bill in March 1940. The bill combined the General Grant Grove with the backcountry beyond Zumwalt Meadow. Kings Canyon's future was in doubt for nearly fifty years. Some wanted to build a dam at the western end of the valley, while others wanted to preserve it as a park. The debate was settled in 1965, when the valley, along with Tehipite Valley, was added to the park.
Kings Canyon National Park has hiking, mountain climbing and beautiful California Nature Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are a great place to climb. The rock here is similar to Yosemite in quality. One can enjoy an endless variety of climbs from easy to extremely challenging without the crowds and pressure of more famous climbing areas. Outstanding routes include the Obelisk, Grand Sentinel, and Chimney Rock. Most climbs require at least a day's hike in.

A good place to look for climbs is along Bubbs Creek. On the north side of the Bubbs Creek Trail, just before it crosses Charlotte Creek, are Charlito Dome and Charlotte Dome. The hike in is about 8 miles, but the multi-pitch possibilities are worth the haul

Looming granite walls, great vistas, quiet rivers, pleasant waterfalls—some of the most level hikes in the parks can be found here as well as some of the most steep, hot, and strenuous. There is something for every hiker in the Kings Canyon..
Sequoia and Kings Canyon Parks form the heart of the second-largest contiguous roadless area left in the lower 48 states. The southern Sierra is so rugged that few roads cross it; you must go north to Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park or south to Walker Pass or Tehachapi Pass.

The mid-elevation Sierra coniferous forest supports a remarkable diversity of tree species. Here ponderosa pine, incense-cedar, white fir, sugar pine, and scattered groves of giant sequoia intermix, forming one of the most extensive stands of old-growth coniferous forest remaining in the world.

Campgrounds in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks campgrounds are located in oak woodlands in the warm, dry foothills and in the higher, cooler conifer forests. They range in elevation from 2,100 to 7,500 feet. Lodgepole, Dorst, Grant Grove and Atwell Mill campgrounds are near giant sequoia groves. In general, higher elevation campgrounds are cooler and closer to giant sequoias.
 
 
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