Sequoia - Kings Canyon National Park

With the greatest range in elevation, 3,930 meters (12,900 feet), of any of the national parks in the contiguous states, a great variety of plant communities is found here. They range from foothill grasslands and chaparral to alpine fell fields. Over a third of the Park is either barren rock or rock with scattered patches of vegetation.

Chaparral, with chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum, is widespread in the lower areas, particularly of the Kaweah drainage. In the forested area, red fir, Abies magnifica, which occurs in combination with other conifers as well as in almost pure stands, is the most common species. Above the red fir forest there are subalpine forests with lodgepole, Western white, foxtail and whitebark pines, Pinus murrayana, Pinus monticola, Pinus balfouriana and Pinus albicaulis.

In the lower levels, white fir, Abies concolor, grades upward into the red fir and Jeffrey pine, Pinus jeffreyi, and downward into mixed conifer forests with ponderosa and sugar pines, Pinus ponderosa and Pinus lambertiana, and incense cedar, Calocedrus decurrens. Oak woodlands and savannah, montane and subalpine meadows, as well as riparian associations are also present.

Some 32 groves of sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, grow in the Parks, all but three in Sequoia (see Abbot Creek Grove and Agnew Grove). In Sequoia, two trees, mountain hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana, and whitebark pine, Pinus albicaulis, are at, or are very close to, their southernmost distribution.

At least nine rare or uncommon plants are found in the Parks: Angelica callii, Aster peirsonii, Triteleia dudleyi, Castilleja lemmonii, Dicentra nevadensis, Erigeron aequifolius, Juncus hemiendytus, Raillardiopsis muirii and Streptanthus gracilis.

Numerous animals are present, ranging from foothill to high alpine inhabitants. Black bear, Ursus americanus, and mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, are the more frequently sighted larger mammals; bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis, may be observed in the high country. Mountain lions, Felis concolor, the rare wolverine, Gulo luscus, marten, Martes americana, and the rare fisher, Martes pennanti, are among the carnivores inhabiting the area. Of interest is the Little Kern golden trout, Salmo aquabonita whitei, which is found within the Parks (see Soda Springs Creek.)

Rocks in most of the Park area are Mesozoic granitics, with some Paleozoic marbles, Tertiary volcanics and Quaternary glacial deposits. Several glaciers are extant, the largest being the Darwin glacier. Cirques, moraines and other glacial traces are present. The Kern River runs through a U-shaped, glacially formed canyon within a portion of Sequoia and to a point 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of the Park boundary; this marks the southernmost extent of glaciation in the Sierra. There are also rock glaciers.

Four caves, all in the marble formation, occur in the Park in the Kaweah drainage. Stalagmites, stalactites and pillars are present.

See also Castle Rocks Natural Area, Garfield Natural Area, Granite Creek Natural Area, Heather Lake Natural Area, Kaweah Basin Natural Area and Whitney Creek Natural Area.

Integrity: Sequoia was established as a Park in 1890, Kings Canyon in 1940. There are numerous trails and recreational facilities in the Parks and some of the more fragile area has been impacted by use. Permits for back-country travel are required.

Use: Present

March 1980