Kings Canyon National Park, Nature reserve in Sierra Nevada, California, US
Kings Canyon National Park is a nature reserve in the Sierra Nevada featuring tall granite peaks, deep canyons, large groves of giant sequoias, and alpine meadows spread across an extensive forest landscape. The terrain encompasses different landscape types that together form a varied ecosystem.
The area became a national park in 1890, originally established to protect giant sequoias from logging. It received its current name in 1940 after the protected territory was expanded.
The land bears traces of inhabitation spanning thousands of years, and visitors can still observe how careful land management shaped the meadows and forests visible today. These patterns reflect how people once lived in balance with the terrain.
The park has two visitor areas, Grant Grove and Cedar Grove, each offering different starting points for hiking and exploration. The best time to visit is from May through October, when most trails are accessible and the weather is mild.
The park contains one of North America's deepest canyons, carved by glaciers and plunging more than 1,200 meters through granite formations. This gorge is deeper than many of the continent's more well-known canyons.
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