Thecoast redwood is the tallest tree species on EarthMap of theChannel Islands of CaliforniaTorrey pine grove on Santa Rosa islandSanta Barbara IslandDeath Valley National ParkDeath Valley, CaliforniaAJoshua treeThe upper part of Kings Canyon, seen from Zumwalt MeadowGeneral Sherman Tree inSequoia National ParkLake Helen in Lassen Volcanic National ParkRock formations at Pinnacles National ParkThe Redwood ForestRedwood Coastline areaTunnel View, Yosemite ValleyEl Capitan, a granite monolith in Yosemite ValleyCathedral PeakUnited States National Park Service
There are nine national parks located in the state ofCalifornia managed by theNational Park Service. National parks protect significant scenic areas and nature reserves, provide educational programs, community service opportunities, and are an important part of conservation efforts in the United States. There are several other locations inside of California managed by the National Park Service, but carry otherdesignations such as National Monuments. Many of thenational parks in California are also part ofnational forests andNational Wildlife Refuges, and containNative American Heritage Sites andNational Monuments.
TheChannel Islands National Park was established on March 5, 1980, and is located on five of the eightChannel Islands off the coast ofCalifornia; all of the islands are located inSanta Barbara County except Anacapa Island which is located inVentura County. The park covers a total area of almost 250,000 acres (1,000 km2).[1][2][3] The National Park Service works with various organizations to host educational, conservation, and scientific programs at the park.[4] The five islands which comprise the park are:[a][5]
Santa Cruz Island (Spanish:Isla Santa Cruz,Chumash:Limuw) is the largest island in California and largest of the eight islands in the Channel Islands archipelago. It forms part of the northern group of the Channel Islands.[6] Santa Cruz is 22 miles (35 km) long and 2 to 6 miles (3 to 10 km) wide with an area of over 61,000 acres (250 km2).[7][8][9]
San Miguel Island (Island Chumash:Tuqan) is the farthest west of the Channel Islands; it is the sixth-largest of the eight Channel Islands covering over 9,000 acres (3,600 ha), including offshore islands and rocks. Prince Island, 700 m (2,300 ft) off the northeastern coast, measures 35 acres (14 ha) in area. The island, at its farthest extent, is 8 miles (13 km) long and 3.7 miles (6.0 km) wide.[8][10]
Santa Rosa Island (Chumash:Wi'ma) is the second largest of the Channel Islands covering over 53,000 acres (210 km2). Santa Rosa island is located about 26 miles (42 km) off the coast ofSanta Barbara, California. The terrain consists of rolling hills, canyons, and a coastal lagoon. The island's highest point is Vail Peak, at 1,589 feet (484 m).[11][12]
Anacapa Island is the smallest of the island chain and also the closest of the Channel Islands to the mainland. It is 9 miles (14 km) across the Santa Barbara Channel to the nearest point on the mainland and lies southwest of the city ofVentura, California.[13] It is the only one of the Channel Islands to have a non-Spanish-derived name;Anacapa comes from theChumash word"Anyapax", meaning "illusion".[14]Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed by the island in 1542;George Vancouver labeled the island"Enecapa" on a 1790 chart; theUnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey labeled the island"Anacapa" in 1854.[15] Anacapa Island is home to theAnacapa Island Lighthouse a national historic site.[16][17]
Santa Barbara Island is located about 38 miles (61 km) from thePalos Verdes Peninsula. With a total area of about 640 acres (2.6 km2), it is the smallest of the eight Channel Islands and is the southernmost island in the chain. The highest point on the island is Signal Hill, at 634 ft (193 m). The island was named by Spanish explorerSebastián Vizcaíno, who sighted the island on 4 December 1602, thefeast day dedicated toSaint Barbara.[18]
The islands are home to an array of significant natural resources and cultural sites; all of the islands contain national archeological districts except Santa Rosa Island. In 1976 all eight of the islands became a biosphere reserve as part of theMan and the Biosphere Programme underUNESCO.[19][2]
TheChannel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a protected area established May 5, 1980 encompassing the waters from mean high tide to 6 nautical miles (11 km) around Channel Islands National Park, covering an area of approximately 1,470 square miles (3,800 km2). TheNational Marine Sanctuary program is part of theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and conducts educational programs, oversees conservation efforts, scientific research, and national resource stewardship. The sanctuary protects a wide range of marine species and more than 150 historic shipwrecks.[20][21]
Death Valley National Park straddles theCalifornia–Nevada border, east of theSierra Nevada range. The park containsDeath Valley, the northern section ofPanamint Valley, the southern section ofEureka Valley, and most ofSaline Valley.[26] TheDeath Valley National Monument was declared in 1933; the park was substantially expanded and became a national park in 1994.[27] The park protects over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2).[28]
Despite its name, Death Valley National Park is home to a wide variety of plants and animals in its diverseecosystem andmicroecosystems.[33] TheDeath Valley pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus), also known asSalt Creek pupfish, is a small species of fish found only in Death Valley National Park; the pupfish isendemic to two small, isolated locations and is currently classified as anendangered species.[34][35][36]
The Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park adjoin each other and are administered together by the National Park Service asSequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.[46]
The park consists of two main areas:General Grant Grove, home of theGeneral Grant tree and Cedar Grove. The park's namesake, Kings Canyon, is a ruggedglacier-carved valley more than a mile (1,600 m) deep. Other natural features include multiple 14,000-foot (4,300 m) peaks, high mountain meadows, swift-flowing rivers, and some of the world's largest stands ofgiant sequoia trees. The canyon is drained by theMiddle andSouth Forks of theKings River. Kings Canyon is home to over 60 recreational trails; combined thePacific Crest Trail[c] and theJohn Muir Trail[d] traverse the entire length of the park, from north to south.[52][53][54]
Sequoia National Park is in the southern Sierra Nevada, northeast ofBakersfield, California. Because the parks are adjacent to each other, Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park are administered together as the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks by the National Park Service;.[46] In 1976,UNESCO designated the park as the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve.
The park was established on September 25, 1890, to protect over 400,000 acres (1,600 km2) of mountainous forest wilderness and became a national park at the same time the National Park Service was founded on August 25, 1916;[55] today the park protects 629 square miles (1,630 km2). The park's giant sequoia forests are part of 202,430 acres (819.2 km2) of old-growth forests protected by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The park is home to the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney (14,505 feet (4,421 m)). Approximately 85 percent of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is a wilderness area inaccessible by road. The majority of the national park was designated as part of the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness area in 1984 and the southwest portion of the park was protected as theJohn Krebs Wilderness in 2009.[b][56][57]
The park is known for thegiant sequoia trees it is named after, including theGeneral Sherman Tree, by volume the largest tree on Earth. The General Sherman Tree grows in an area of the park called theGiant Forest, which contains five of the ten largest trees in the world. The Giant Forest is connected by theGenerals Highway toGeneral Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National park, home of theGeneral Grant tree which is one of the other largest giant sequoias in existence.[58]
Lassen Volcanic National Park is located inLassen County in northeastern California and is known for its numerous volcanoes.[59] The namesake feature of the park isLassen Peak, the largestplug domevolcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in theCascade Range.[60] The park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcano can be found: plug dome,shield,cinder cone, andstratovolcano. From May 1914 until 1917, a series of eruptions occurred on Lassen.[61][62][63]
Lassen Volcanic National Park began in 1907 as two separatenational monuments: Cinder Cone National Monument and Lassen Peak National Monument.[64] Because of the recent volcanic activity and the area's scenery, Lassen Peak, Cinder Cone, and the area surrounding were established as a National Park on August 9, 1916.[65][66][67] The park currently protects over 166 square miles (430 km2).[63]
Pinnacles National Park is a mountainous area located east of theSalinas Valley inCentral California. The park is approximately 40 miles (64 km) inland from thePacific Ocean and approximately 80 miles (130 km) south of theSan Francisco Bay Area. The park is in the southern portion of theGabilan Range, part of California'sCoast Ranges. Pinnacles is the ninth location in California to become part of the National Park System. In 1975 the park occupied over 16,000 acres (65 km2), increasing to the present size of over 26,000 acres (110 km2) through expansions including the 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) Pinnacles Ranch and Bacon Ranch,[69] and the Clinton administration's Proclamation 7266 which increased the size of the park by 7,900 acres (32 km2) to protect more caves. The elevation in the park ranges from 824 to 3,304 feet (251 to 1,007 m) at the peak ofNorth Chalone Peak.[70][71][72] The park is also home toPinnacles National Monument, an area of spirelike rock formations in the Gabilan Range area.[73]
The park is named for theeroded rocky spires which are the remnants of an ancient volcanic field. The majority of the park is also protected as anational wilderness. The park is divided by rock formations into eastern and western areas, connected by hiking trails. The rock formations provide for extensive views that attractrock climbing enthusiasts.[74] The park featurestalus caves which are home to at least thirteen different species of bats;[75] the park is an excellent habitat forprairie falcons, and is a protected release site forCalifornia condors hatched in captivity.[76][77]
Pinnacles was established under theAntiquities Act as anational monument in 1908 by PresidentTheodore Roosevelt,[72] and was redesignated as a national park by Congressional legislation in 2012 that was signed into law by PresidentBarack Obama on January 10, 2013.[78] The legislation designates the Pinnacles Wilderness as theHain Wilderness in commemoration of Schuyler Hain's efforts to establish the national monument.[79][80][77]
TheRedwood National and State Parks are a network of three state and one national park located along the coast of northernCalifornia withinDel Norte andHumboldt Counties. TheNational Park Service and theCalifornia Department of Parks and Recreation administratively merged responsibility Redwood National Park with the three abutting Redwood State Parks in 1994 to streamline administration, forest management and resource stabilization.[81][82]
In 1850,old-growth redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) of the California coast. Today the parks protect the remaining Redwood forest area, a combined 139,000 acres (560 km2) area ofold-growthtemperate rainforests. The four parks protect almost half of all remainingcoastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) old-growth forests, totaling an area of over 38,000 acres (150 km2) with 37 miles (60 km) of natural coastline.Coastal redwoods are among the tallest, oldest, and most massive tree species on Earth.[87]
After decades of unrestrictedlogging, efforts toward conservation of the Redwood forest started. The work of theSave the Redwoods League, founded in 1918 to protect the remaining old-growth redwoods, resulted in the creation of the several state parks. Efforts by the Save the Redwoods League, theSierra Club, and theNational Geographic Society to create a national park began in the early 1960s and Redwood National Park was created in 1968. The parks are currently managed jointly by the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service.[88][89][90]
Yosemite National Park is located in central California in the western Sierra Nevada; the park borders the Sierra National Forest to the southeast and Stanislaus National Forest to the northwest and extends Tuolumne, Mono, Madera, and Mariposa counties. Three wilderness areas adjoin the park: theAnsel Adams Wilderness to the southeast, theHoover Wilderness to the northeast, and theEmigrant Wilderness to the north. The park protects an area of almost 750,000 acres (3,000 km2); The elevation of the park ranges from 2,127 feet (648 m) to 13,114 feet (3,997 m).[96][97] The name "Yosemite" means "killer" inMiwok, and originally referred a tribe that was forced out of the area by theMariposa Battalion. Previously, the area had been called "Ahwahnee" ("big mouth") by indigenous people. The indigenous tribe that lived in the Valley were called Yosemites by other tribes because they were formed of renegades from thePaiutes. The term "Yosemite" in Miwok is easily confusable with a similar term for "grizzly bear".[98][99]
Almost the entire park is designated as a wilderness area;[100] the park contains multiple ecosystems such as chaparral and oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone, and alpine and protects a wide biological diversity of flora and fauna native to California and the Sierra Nevada. Yosemite is one of twenty–fourWorld Heritage Sites in the United States.[101]
Yosemite was at the heart of the development of the national park system.Galen Clark worked together with other conservationists to protect Yosemite Valley from development; this ultimately led PresidentAbraham Lincoln to sign the Yosemite Grant Act in 1864. The movement to have Congress declare Yosemite a national park began soon after the grant and the valley and surrounding mountains and wilderness became a national park in 1890.[102]
TheNational Park Service (NPS) is theagency of theUnited States Government that manages allnational parks, manynational monuments, and other historical properties with various designations. The agency was created on August 25, 1916, through theNational Park Service Organic Act. The National Park Service is a part of theDepartment of the Interior. The agency is charged with both preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management and also making them available and accessible for public use and enjoyment.[103][104][105]
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^The Pacific Crest trail passes through 25 national forests and 7 national parks.
^The John Muir trail passes through Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.
^TheCalifornia Desert Protection Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. §§ 410aaa through 410aaa-83, October 31, 1994): The Act establishes the Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve.
^Rick, Torben C.; Erlandson, Jon M.; Vellanoweth, René L.; Braje, Todd J. (2005). "From Pleistocene Mariners to Complex Hunter-Gatherers: The Archaeology of the California Channel Islands".Journal of World Prehistory.19 (3):169–228.doi:10.1007/s10963-006-9004-x.S2CID162492009.
^Kohn, B., Benson, S. (2016).Lonely Planet Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. Lonely Planet Publications.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^White, Mike (2012).Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Your Complete Hiking Guide. Wilderness Press.
^Dilsaver, L. M.; Tweed, W. C. (1990). "Chapter 4: Parks and Forests: Protection Begins (1885-1916)".Challenge of the Big Trees. National Park Service.
^Dilsaver, L. M.; Tweed, W. C. (1990). "Chapter 5: Selling Sequoia: The Early Park Service Years (1916-1931)".Challenge of the Big Trees. National Park Service.
^An Act to designate certain lands within units of the national park system as wilderness; to revise the boundaries of certain of those units, and for other purposes.Pub. L.94–567,H.R. 13160, 90 Stat.2692, enactedOctober 20, 1976
^Barbour, Michael G.; Lydon, Sandy; Borchert, Mark; Popper, Marjorie; Whitworth, Valerie; Evarts, John (2001).Coast Redwood: A Natural and Cultural History. Cachuma Press.ISBN978-0-9628505-5-4.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Park Service.
