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Tehipite Valley, a glacial valley of the Middle Fork Kings River, is located in
Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...
in the
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 ...
. The valley is in
Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...
about southwest of
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and east of
Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
and is known for its
Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service ...
-like scenery and its extreme isolation.


Geography

The valley, about long and up to three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) wide, is characterized by high, extremely steep granite walls, side canyons and waterfalls. The valley's scenery has been frequently compared to that of
Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. The valley is about long a ...
, starting with
John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...
who first visited the area in the 1870s. It is situated just inside the western boundary of Kings Canyon National Park and on the northern edge of the Monarch Wilderness. The Middle Fork flows swiftly from northeast to southwest through the valley. The valley floor is at an elevation of while the surrounding peaks rise to heights of or more. On a 1917 National Park Service expedition to Tehipite Valley, Robert Sterling Yard described the place as thus: The north side of Tehipite Valley is dominated by Tehipite Dome, the largest granite dome in the Sierra Nevada, rising above the valley floor. Notable features of the valley include Silver Spray and Blue Canyon Falls, both cascades hundreds of feet high and the rugged, nearly inaccessible Gorge of Despair formed by Crystal Creek which provides "some of the finest technical rock climbing in the Sierra".


History

The valley was named in 1869 by Frank Dusy, taking the Native American name for Tehipite Dome meaning "high rock". Dusy's expeditions were also the first to photograph the valley, doing so in 1879. Although Dusy is credited with being the first non-native person to visit the valley, he recorded in his journal that he followed a trail possibly used by prospectors in search of gold, several years earlier. Lilbourne A. Winchell, a member of the 1879 Dusy expedition, wrote of his initial impression of the valley: In 1897 Theodore S. Solomon made one of the first maps of the valley, on which was also the first recorded mention of "Gorge of Despair".Browning, p. 96 In the 1920s the City of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
proposed the Tehipite Valley as the site of a hydroelectric dam. This was one of the key controversies before, and for many years after the establishment of Kings Canyon National Park. The initial dedication of the park on March 4, 1940 by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
did not include Tehipite Valley; it was not until 1965 when Tehipite Valley and Cedar Grove were finally added to the park, making them forever off-limits to industrial development.


Access

The valley is known for its extreme remoteness, and is many miles from the nearest paved road ( Highway 180). On some days, it receives no visitors at all. One of the major trails to the valley is the Tehipite Valley Trail, which begins at the access road for Wishon Dam. The National Park Service describes the hike to the valley rim as "moderate" and the descent into the valley as "very strenuous". Due to the high elevation of the incoming trails and heavy snows in winter, Tehipite Valley is inaccessible for up to eight months of the year. The difficulty of access is compounded by the fact that many trails have deteriorated. In addition the area is known for
rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...
s. There are primitive campsites in the valley, along the Middle Fork.


See also

* Tehipite Valley jewelflower


References

{{coord, 36.909, -118.782, type:landmark_region:US-CA_dim:3000, display=title Canyons and gorges of California Kings Canyon National Park Valleys of Fresno County, California