Sequoia National Park and King’s Canyon National Park are adjacent and contiguous parks
which were formed to protect the Giant Forest and General Grant Grove of Giant Sequoias in
the western Sierra Nevada mountains about three hours to the south of Yosemite National Park.
The General Sherman and General Grant Sequoias are two of the world’s largest trees by volume.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Paul Bunyan Three Rivers X0196
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Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, taken in the early morning in spring.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox were carved from a single Giant Sequoia
log by Carroll Barnes in 18 months between 1940-41. It stands in front of the
Three Rivers Historical Museum, at the base of Ash Mountain in the town
of Three Rivers, below the southern entrance to Sequoia National Park.

Paul Bunyan Three Rivers X6958
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Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, taken in mid-afternoon in October on the way out of Sequoia National Park. Weighing in at about 13 tons, the statue was carved from a a 40 ton fallen Sequoia using only a hammer and chisel.

Paul Bunyan Three Rivers X6965
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The statue stands over 20 feet tall on its Sequoia pedestal and is the largest sculpture ever made from a single Sequoia log. Carroll Barnes later made many other sculptures including another Paul Bunyan at Visalia’s College of the Sequoias.

Paul Bunyan Three Rivers X6956
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Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in front of the Three Rivers Historical Museum,
a 13 ton single-log Sequoia sculpture hand-carved by Carroll Barnes in 1940-1941.

Ash Mountain Sign Sequoia X6949
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The Ash Mountain Entrance Sign for Sequoia National Park was carved in 1935 from Sequoia wood by George W. Munro, a CCC worker who had displayed a talent for wood carving. It was designed by the local architect Harold G. Fowler, who along with Munro selected a fallen Sequoia log from the Giant Forest. The design is based upon James Earl Fraser’s profile of an American Indian on the 1913-38 Buffalo Nickel.

The sign took several months to carve, and was erected during the winter of 1935-36, mounted on a four foot diameter Sequoia log with wrought iron brackets. The sign is ten feet wide, four feet high, and one foot thick. It stands on a two-tier masonry platform, and was originally unpainted. The sign is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ash Mountain Sign Sequoia X6952
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Ash Mountain Sign Sequoia X6954
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Detail of the Ash Mountain Entrance Sign to Sequoia National Park,
carved from a single fallen Sequoia log by George W. Munro in 1935.

This group was taken at mid-afternoon in October. I took a wide landscape,
a portrait, and this detail shot, all three of which are displayed and available.

Tunnel Rock Old Sequoia Road Autumn X6943
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Tunnel Rock is a granite boulder over the Old Sequoia Road. The boulder originally blocked the old road, which bypassed the rock. The CCC carved the lower side of the boulder to open enough space for a road, created the road itself, and the rock facing on the dirt wall. The work was completed in 1938.

The current road once again bypasses the boulder and Tunnel Rock is no longer a part of the road to Sequoia National Park, as the height of some vehicles is too great to allow passage.

It is, however, still an interesting sight to be seen on the road above the Ash Mountain Entrance when you are coming into Sequoia National Park from the southern side. These two images were taken at mid-afternoon in October.

Tunnel Rock Old Sequoia Road Autumn X6945
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Tunnel Rock Old Sequoia Road Spring X0198
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Tunnel Rock and the Old Sequoia Road, above the Ash Mountain Entrance to
Sequoia National Park. This shot was taken on an early spring morning in May.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Ash Mountain Sign Sequoia X0197
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Detail of the Ash Mountain Entrance Sign to Sequoia National Park,
carved from a single fallen Sequoia log by George W. Munro in 1935.

This shaded detail shot was taken on an early spring morning in May.

General Sherman Tree Sequoia X0201
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The General Sherman Tree in the Giant Forest of Sequoia NP is the largest single-stem tree in the world by volume. It was named for the Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman.

General Sherman Tree Sequoia X0203
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When it was compared in 1931 with the General Grant Tree in the Grant Grove of nearby King’s Canyon NP, the standard of measuring trees by wood volume was established.

The General Sherman Tree is 275 feet tall, 102.6 feet in circumference at the base, and has a volume of 52,500 cubic feet.

General Sherman Tree Sequoia X0205
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General Sherman is among the tallest, widest, and oldest trees on the planet, but it does not top any of those lists. General Grant is larger in circumference and diameter, but based upon trunk volume, General Sherman is champion.

General Sherman Tree Sequoia X0206
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In 2006, the largest branch on the tree fell off, cratering the walkway pavement and smashing the fence. The branch was over 7 feet in diameter and about 100 feet long, but there were no injuries (and no witnesses to the spectacular fall).

General Grant Tree King’s Canyon X0210
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The General Grant Tree in the Grant Grove of the adjacent King’s Canyon National Park, on a spring morning in May.

General Grant Tree King’s Canyon X6840
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The General Grant Tree in  King’s Canyon NP, shot about an hour earlier, on an autumn morning in October.

The General Grant Tree was named for Ulysses S. Grant, the Union Army
Civil War General and the President of the United States from 1869-1877.

The General Grant Tree is 267.4 feet tall, 107.6 feet in circumference at the base, and has a volume of 46,608 cubic feet.

General Grant Tree King’s Canyon X0211
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The General Grant Tree is the largest tree in the Grant Grove of Giant Sequoias
in King’s Canyon National Park, connected by the General’s Highway to Sequoia NP.
It is the third largest tree in the world by volume (*). In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge
proclaimed the Grant Tree to be the “Nation’s Christmas Tree”, after he was petitioned
by Charles E. Lee, who had organized the first Christmas program at the Grant Tree in
1925. Prior to 1931, the General Grant Tree was considered to be the largest tree in
the world due to its enormous base, but when it was measured and compared to the
General Sherman Tree in 1931, General Sherman turned out to be larger by volume.

Giant Sequoias are a species of Redwood which occur naturally only in groves of the
Western Sierra Nevada. The world’s most massive trees by volume, the largest grow
to more than 250 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter at the base. The oldest trees (which
are not necessarily the largest) can reach an age of 3500 years. Giant Sequoias are
protected from rot by the tannic acid in the bark and heartwood, and the thick bark is
 fire resistant. The trees have very shallow roots (3 to 6 feet) that can extend 100 to
150 feet (or more) from the tree, providing a stable base and gathering as much
as several thousand gallons of water per day. Mature trees produce thousands
of egg-shaped seed cones which are opened by fire or Douglas Squirrels.

* In the spring of 2011, a detailed measurement of the President Tree in the Giant Forest
of Sequoia National Park by Steve Sillett of Humboldt State University was performed by
rigging ropes and climbing the tree, taking detailed measurements to determine that the
3200 year old President Tree has a wood volume second only to the General Sherman.

General Grant Fire Scar King’s Canyon X0218
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The basal fire scar on the General Grant Tree. Older Giant Sequoias all have fire scars like this. Sequoia bark is highly resistant to fire, and their chemical makeup resists rot, pests and disease. Sequoias require fire to open their seed cones and clear competing plant life, allowing seedlings to grow.

General Grant Tree Crown Detail X0220
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The General Grant Tree from a few feet above the base to the crown, shot from the side opposite the basal fire scar. The  Grant Grove was originally part of the General Grant National Park, created in 1890 along with Yosemite NP, about a week after Sequoia NP. In 1940, King’s Canyon NP was formed.

General Grant Tree FE King’s Canyon X6897
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General Grant Tree FE King’s Canyon X6899
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The General Grant Tree and the surrounding forest shot with a fisheye lens, an extreme wide angle lens
whose distortion at the edges bends subjects placed at the edge of the frame towards the center. The
lens shows a 180 degree angle of view (you have to be careful to keep your feet out of the frame) and
offers an exceptional perspective in the forest or for images taken from a high vantage point . To see
several images like these, visit the Taft Point and Glacier Point pages for some spectacular views.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Giant Sequoia King’s Canyon X6870
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Giant Sequoia King’s Canyon X6882
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A Giant Sequoia and surrounding forest in the Grant Grove. The image at left was taken from
about 30 feet in front of the Sequoia, and tilting the camera back to place the entire tree in the
frame causes some keystone distortion (the Sequoia appears to be leaning away from the
viewer, and surrounding trees lean in towards the center). The image at right was taken
from about 100 feet away (26mm vs. 19mm), allowing the camera back to be closer
to parallel with the subject Sequoia, reducing the keystone distortion considerably.

Sequoia Forest FE King’s Canyon X6885
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An extreme wide angle shot of the scene, taken with a fisheye lens (180 degree field of view).
The fisheye lens offers a spectacular perspective in the forest. This was taken with the camera
back tilted up at a 45 degree angle (note how the trees at the edges bend towards the center).

Sequoia Forest FE King’s Canyon X6888
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Another extreme wide angle view of the Grant Grove taken with a fisheye lens. For this image,
the camera back was tilted up at about a 60 degree angle creating a more dramatic perspective.

Giant Sequoia Crown Detail X6893
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Crown detail of a Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove of King’s Canyon National Park.

Most of the branches of Giant Sequoias are in the crown and the upper third of the tree.
The upper part of the crown is the most active part of the tree, producing far more cones.
A large Giant Sequoia can produce 10,000 to 30,000 cones, with over 300,000 seeds.

Giant Sequoia Bark Detail X6895
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Giant Sequoias in the Grant Grove of King’s Canyon NP. The bark of the Giant Sequoia is quite thick and smoother than its close cousin, the California Redwood or Coast Redwood, the tallest trees on Earth (Sequoia sempervirens).

Giant Sequoia Bark Detail HS4326c
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Bark detail of a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the Grant Grove, showing fire scars. Sequoias can only grow in full sun and in mineral-rich soil, and only germinate when there is little competing vegetation or forest litter. They require fire to dry and open their seed cones and to clear away the competing vegetation and needle humus.

Giant Sequoia Bark Detail X6926
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The base of a Giant Sequoia and surrounding conifers in the Grant Grove.

Detail shots of the base, fire scars and bark of Giant Sequoia trees are below.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Giant Sequoia Base Detail X6831
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A large gnarled indentation in the base of a Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove. This is a commonly seen characteristic of the base of mature Giant Sequoias.

Giant Sequoia Base Detail X6833
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Sometimes these indentations can be hollowed out by fire, such as the one pictured above. These are sometimes used as dens by small forest mammals.

Giant Sequoia Fire Scar X6913
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A large vertical fire scar in a Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove of King’s Canyon National Park.

Giant Sequoia Fire Scars X6923
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Fire scars on the base of a Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove of King’s Canyon National Park.

Giant Sequoia bark is thick and non-resinous, and mature trees are more resistant to fire
than young Sequoias and other trees which populate the forests in which they live, however,
repeated exposure to fire over many centuries can sear through the bark of a tree at the base,
kill part of the vascular cambium which transports water, and produces an large vertical scar
which weakens the tree. Almost all large Sequoias have a vertical fire scar over a large
percentage of the basal circumference, although few are killed by fire scars like this.
They do provide an entry point for fungi which cause disease and weaken the tree.

Giant Sequoia Bark Detail HS4330
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Fire scars in the base of a Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove of King’s Canyon National Park.
This is a detail shot of the base of the tree shown in the vertical image displayed above right.

Wolf Lichen on Stump Sequoia X0214
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Wolf Lichen on a stump in the Giant Forest of Sequoia NP.

Wolf Lichen Sequoia King’s Canyon X6940
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Wolf Lichen on a Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove.

Wolf Lichen Red Fir King’s Canyon HS4355
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Wolf Lichen on Red Fir trees in the Grant Grove of King’s Canyon National Park.

Wolf Lichen (Letharia vulpina) is a yellow-green branching fungus that grows on
the bark of conifers (living and dead), and is toxic to mammals. It was historically
used as a poison for wolves and foxes (thus the name), and was used to make a
pigment for dyes and paints by the Native Americans in areas in which it grows.
It was also used in a healing poultice, and boiled for a drink to stop bleeding.

Wolf Lichen Red Fir King’s Canyon HS4321
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Wolf Lichen Red Fir King’s Canyon X6912 c1
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A detail shot and detail crop of Wolf Lichen on Red Fir trees in the Grant Grove.

Wolf Lichen is highly resistant to freezing and low temperatures, and remains active in
winter. It resumes photosynthesis just a few minutes after it thaws, and it generally grows
at heights on a tree above the maximum snow line, so you can easily judge how deep the
snow can get in an area by the lowest height at which Wolf Lichen grows on the trees.

Wolf Lichen Red Fir King’s Canyon X6912 c2
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A detail crop of Wolf Lichen on a Red Fir tree in the Grant Grove of King’s Canyon National Park.

More images of Wolf Lichen can be seen in the Forest Scenes section of the Taft Point page.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Mariposa Grove page

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Yosemite Plant Life page

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Yosemite Select page