Tuolumne Grove
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Tuolumne Grove is a
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 near Crane Flat in
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, 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 p ...
, at the southeastern edge of the Tuolumne River watershed. It is about west of Yosemite Village on Tioga Pass Road. The grove contains many
conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
s, including a few ''
Sequoiadendron giganteum ''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 ...
'' as well as ''
Abies concolor ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, concolor fir, or Colorado fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains, and int ...
'' and ''
Pinus lambertiana ''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree and has the longest cones of any conifer. It is native to coastal and inland mountain areas along the Pacific coast of North ...
''. A small grove of about 25 large trees, covering around 20 acres, includes the Dead Giant, which measures 29 1/2 feet in diameter at its base. In 1878, a tunnel was cut through the Dead Giant, allowing a road to pass through it. The Dead Giant was the first
tunnel tree A tunnel tree is a large tree, typically a Sequoiadendron_giganteum, giant sequoia or Sequoia_sempervirens, coastal redwood, through which a tunnel has been carved. This practice was primarily carried out in the late 19th and early 20th centurie ...
.


Discovery and Early Exploration

Tuolumne Grove lies near Crane Flat in Yosemite and contains about two dozen mature giant sequoias. Although likely first observed by the Joseph Walker Expedition in 1833, Tuolumne Grove was officially discovered on May 10, 1858, by Dr. J. L. Cogswell and eight companions from Garrote, California. They named the hollow giant tree "King Solomon’s Temple," later known as the Dead Giant.The party, initially hunting near Crane Flat, accidentally discovered a cluster of sequoias after losing track of a wounded deer. Cogswell's report in the ''
San Francisco Evening Bulletin The ''San Francisco Evening Bulletin'' was a newspaper in San Francisco, founded as the ''Daily Evening Bulletin'' in 1855 by James King of William. King used the newspaper to crusade against political corruption, and built it into having the hig ...
'' soon made Tuolumne Grove a popular stop for Yosemite visitors.


Early Tourism and Access

By the late 19th century, Tuolumne Grove was promoted as a scenic stop on the overland routes into Yosemite. Stage and wagon roads connected Big Oak Flat ( Groveland) to Yosemite Valley via Crane Flat, deliberately routing travelers through the Tuolumne Grove of “mammoth trees.” Newspaper advertisements and travel guides from the 1860s–1880s advertised this route as a pleasant ride "down the Tuolumne grove of big trees." As tourism grew, the old
Big Oak Flat Road State Route 120 (SR 120) is a state highway in the central part of California, connecting the San Joaquin Valley with the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park, and the Mono Lake area. It runs between Interstate 5 in Lathrop and U.S. Route 6 in ...
(later known as Old Tioga Road) became one of the first carriage routes into the park. In 1882–1883, the trail through the grove was improved to a wagon road. By 1917, the historic Old Big Oak Flat Road was realigned and paved for automobiles, though an original segment (the "Old Tioga Road") still leads hikers and snowshoers into the grove.


Dead Giant Tunnel Tree (1878)

In 1878, William McCarthy and brothers James J. and Dave Lumsden cut a 12-foot-high tunnel through the trunk of the burned-out Dead Giant stump so that stages and wagons could pass. According to contemporaries, this was the first giant sequoia
tunnel tree A tunnel tree is a large tree, typically a Sequoiadendron_giganteum, giant sequoia or Sequoia_sempervirens, coastal redwood, through which a tunnel has been carved. This practice was primarily carried out in the late 19th and early 20th centurie ...
. The tunnel (about 30 feet in diameter) was completed just before June 1878, and stagecoaches regularly traversed it as they shuttled tourists between Crane Flat and
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 ...
.


Conservation and Park History

Tuolumne Grove has been part of Yosemite’s protected lands since the park’s creation. In 1864, Congress granted
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 ...
and the
Mariposa Grove Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California, United States, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park. It is the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature specimens. Two of its trees ...
to California for preservation, and in 1890 Yosemite was established as a national park by federal law. This 1890 act greatly expanded the park’s boundaries to include much of the upper Tuolumne River watershed (encompassing the grove). The grove thereafter fell under park administration. In the early 20th century, the U.S. Army (and later the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
) managed Yosemite, maintaining trails and removing fallen logs to protect the trees and reduce fire risk. Over time, fire suppression policies and later prescribed burning were applied to help sustain the sequoias.


Gallery

Image:Tuolumne Grove Trailhead 04 (4245556948).jpg, Tuolumne Grove Trailhead Image:Looking up biggest in Tuolumne Grove.jpg, The largest tree in Tuolumne Grove Image:Tunnel tree in Tuolumne Grove.jpg, The Dead Giant Image:Tuolumne Grove Trailhead 12 (4244822373).jpg, The roots of a fallen giant sequoia.


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 ...
*
Mariposa Grove Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California, United States, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park. It is the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature specimens. Two of its trees ...
- a nearby giant sequoia grove in Yosemite National Park. * Merced Grove - a nearby giant sequoia grove in Yosemite National Park. *
Nelder Grove Nelder Grove, located in the western Sierra Nevada within the Sierra National Forest in Madera County, California, is a Giant sequoia grove that was formerly known as Fresno Grove. The grove is a tract containing 60 mature Giant Sequoia (''Se ...
- a nearby giant sequoia grove in the Sierra National Forest. *
History of California The history of California can be divided into the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American period (about 10,000 years ago until 1542), the Exploration of North America, European exploration period (1542–1769), the Spanish colonial ...
*
Tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...


References


External links

* {{commons category-inline Giant sequoia groves
Sequoiadendron ''Sequoiadendron'' is a genus of evergreen trees, with three species, only one of which survives to the present: * ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'', extant species, extant, commonly known as wellingtonia, giant redwood and giant sequoia, growing nat ...
Yosemite National Park Protected areas of Tuolumne County, California