Deer Creek Grove is a small
giant sequoia
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...
grove located in the
Deer Creek watershed of the
Giant Sequoia National Monument
The Giant Sequoia National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada in eastern central California. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service as part of th ...
in the western
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, near the end of a steep trail south from the end of Deer Creek Mill Road. It is the
southernmost giant sequoia grove, about halfway up a pine-covered mountain that rises above a valley of grassy foothills and containing a scattering of old-growth giant sequoias on a sheltered east-facing slope.
While the present day distribution of this species is limited to a small area of California, it was once much more widely distributed in prehistoric times, and was a reasonably common species in North American and Eurasian coniferous forests until its range was greatly reduced by the last ice age.
Over half the grove burned in the
Windy Fire in 2021.
Noteworthy trees
* Wishbone Tree - a giant sequoia featuring a hole big enough to ride a horse through. The hole was formed by an intense wildfire sometime in the distant past.
See also
*
List of giant sequoia groves
This is a list of giant sequoia groves. All naturally occurring giant sequoia groves are located in the moist, unglaciated ridges and valleys of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada range in California, United States. They can be found at el ...
References
{{Reflist
Giant sequoia groves
Protected areas of Tulare County, California
Sequoia National Forest