Sequoia National Park, the second oldest national park in the United States, breaks a lot of records for size. The park, located in south-western California, contains the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the world's largest trees and America's tallest mountain. Not only big above ground, the Sequoia National Park holds miles of underground caves beneath the park's towering trees.
The Sequoia National Park covers 404,051.17 acres, or an area of 629 square miles. For comparison, Rhode Island has an area of 1,545 square feet. Across this immense acreage, elevations reach from 14,494 feet above sea level to a mere 1,300 feet. Temperatures range from hot and dry in the foothills and valleys to freezing temperatures at the higher altitudes along the mountain ranges.
The sheer dimensions of the Sequoia National Park are not the only "big" things about the park; the giant Sequoias tower above the distant ground. The General Sherman Tree, located in the northern section of the park, measures in at 274.9 feet tall and, at its base, 102.6 feet in circumference. That's the size of an average 26 story building. Although other trees are taller, the General Sherman Tree knows no equal in volume with 52,500 cubic feet of wood, winning the title of the World's Largest Living Thing. Not to be outdone, Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States, stretches to 14,494 feet of elevation in the eastern sections of the park.
While the trees and mountains are larger than life in Sequoia National Park, the caves beneath their roots stretch miles underground. The majority of the park's caves are marble, creating breath-taking displays of blue and white marble caverns deep underground. The Lilburn Cave, with almost 17 miles of mapped passages, is the longest cave in California. Crystal Cave, with cave formations, large caverns and banded marble, has seen millions of visitors since its opening in 1941. In all, the park holds nearly 200 marble caves.
The Sequoia National Park features prominently in American History, taking a big role in the national spotlight. The General Grant Tree, the third largest of the Sequoias in the park, is the only living, national memorial in the United States. Dedicated as a shrine for the men and women who gave their lives for the United States, it was christened in 1956 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration.
As with the natural wonders of the park, visitation numbers are large. In 2001, 1,419,075 persons visited the park's natural wonders. Depending upon the time of year, the park offers different activities. For example, during the warmer months, visitors hike into the more remote areas of the park, camp overnight, backpack or horseback ride along the park's trails. During the winter, learn to cross-county ski or snowshoe in the mountain's power.
