FAQ in Sequoia-King's Canyon National Park

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Sequoia and King's Canyon.

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FAQ Details

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about Sequoia and King's Canyon, as reported by the National Park Service: **Will I see bears in the parks?** Although the grizzly bear is on the California flag, grizzlies no longer live in California. Many black bears live here, though. Black bears are more shy and less aggressive than brown bears (grizzlies). But all bears can become a danger, especially if they are allowed to obtain human food or garbage. Thats' why you are required to store your food properly at all times and pick up all trash. You will help keep our bears safe and wild. ** What is special about the caves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon?** The caves in these national parks formed in marble, which is metamorphosed limestone. Most caves, such as Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, are limestone caves. So far, over 200 caves have been discovered in the parks. Some contain creatures found nowhere else on earth. It is said that even if there were no sequoia trees here, these parks would be a national treasure based on their caves. **From where in the parks can I see Mt. Whitney?** Actually, you cannot see Mt. Whitney at all from park roads, which are all on the west side of the park. The Sierra Nevada Mountains have an unusual double crest running north-south at the southern end of the range. Since Mt. Whitney is on the eastern crest, the peaks of the Great Western Divide block views of the eastern crest from the west side of the park. Mt. Whitney is most easily seen from the Owens Valley, east of the parks. If you're willing to climb to the top of Alta Peak (11,200 feet high; a strenuous but exhilarating day-long hike from Wolverton or Giant Forest), you can see the top of Mt. Whitney over the Great Western Divide (weather permitting). **Are sequoia trees really the largest living things on earth?** It depends on how you define largest living thing. Some claim that an aspen grove covering more than 100 acres in Utah holds that title because the trees all appear to share the same root system -- they are genetically the same. Others argue that these trees are a colony of clones rather a single organism. If you restrict your definition to single-trunked trees, then the General Sherman sequoia tree in Giant Forest holds the title as the largest living thing on earth. **Where is the famous "tree you can drive through?"** The famous tunneled sequoia tree was not in these parks, but rather 100 miles north in the Mariposa Grove of Yosemite National Park. However, visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon can drive through Sequoia Park's "Tunnel Log," a sequoia that fell across the Crescent Meadow Road in Giant Forest and was tunneled through. **Since the mission of the parks is to protect sequoias, why would the parks deliberately set fires in sequoia groves?** For its first seven decades, the parks tried to put out every fire in the sequoia groves. But during those 70 years, officials learned something startling: sequoias are well-adapted to natural fire. In fact, they need fire to reproduce. Periodic fires help to create an ideal habitat for young sequoias to grow by removing competing trees and duff, leaving a bare mineral soil for sequoias to grow.

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