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Mariposa Grove

Giant Sequoia in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite
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Giant Sequoia in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite

Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park, at . It is the largest grove of Giant Sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature examples of the tree. Two of its trees are among the fifty largest such trees in the world.

Mariposa Grove was discovered by Galen Clark and Milton Mann , in 1857. They named the grove after Mariposa County, California, where the grove resides [1].

The 2700-year-old Giant Sequoia named Grizzly Giant is the oldest tree in the park and resides in the grove. It is also the fith largest (by volume) tree in the world with a circumference of 89 feet (27 m) and a diameter of 27 feet (8.2 m) at the base. Grizzly Giant's first branch from its base is itself 6 feet (2 m) in diameter. A tunnel that was wide enough for house-drawn carriages and early automobiles to drive through was cut into the Wawona Tunnel Tree in the 19th century. Weakened by this large opening at its base, the tree fell down in 1969.

Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on June 30, 1864 ceding the "Mariposa Big Tree Grove" (and Yosemite Valley) to the state of California; criticism of the stewardship over the land led to the state returning the grove to federal control upon establishment of Yosemite National Park.


References

  • Geology of U.S. Parklands: Fifth Edition, Eugene P. Kiver and David V. Harris (Jonh Wiley & Sons; New York; 1999; page 227) ISBN 0-471-33218-6

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Last updated: 05-07-2005 06:31:52
Last updated: 08-18-2005 16:48:14