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Hume-Bennett Lumber Company
The Hume-Bennett Lumber Company was a logging operation in the Sequoia National Forest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company and its predecessors were known for building the world's longest log flume and the first multiple-arch hydroelectric dam. However, the company also engaged in destructive clearcutting logging practices, cutting down 8,000 giant sequoias in Converse Basin in a decade-long event that has been described as "the greatest orgy of destructive lumbering in the history of the world." Public opposition of the company’s actions helped mobilize support for the early conservation movement, leading to the creation of Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant National Parks in the early 1880s. By the 1950s, almost all surviving sequoia groves were under public protection. Despite its efforts, the company never turned a profit and closed in 1924. In 1935, the land was purchased by the federal government and became part of the Sequoia National Forest. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Log Flume
A log flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Logging operations preferred flumes whenever a reliable source of water was available. Flumes were cheaper to build and operate than logging railroads. They could span long distances across chasms with more lightweight trestles. Flumes remained in widespread use through the early 20th century. The logging truck replaced both the logging railroad and the flume after WWII. Today, log flumes remain in the popular imagination as amusement park rides. History J.W. Haines built the first successful lumber flume in 1859. The v-shaped trough brought a half-million feet of lumber daily from the eastern Sierra Nevada to the Comstock Lode. The route was between Lake Tahoe and Reno, terminating at the Virginia and Truckee Railroad terminus in Washoe Valley. Soo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Converse Basin Grove
Converse Basin Grove is a grove of giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees in the Giant Sequoia National Monument in the Sierra Nevada, in Fresno County, California, 5 miles (8 km) north of General Grant Grove, just outside Kings Canyon National Park. Once home to the second-largest population of giant sequoias in the world, covering acres, the grove was extensively logged by the Sanger Lumber Company at the turn of the 20th century. The clearcutting of 8,000 giant sequoias, many of which were over 2,000 years old, resulted in the destruction of the old-growth forest ecosystem. The Converse Basin Grove has not recovered despite attempts at restoration in the 20th century. The planting of single-species conifer plantations and the practice of fire exclusion has resulted in two high intensity wildfires since the end of the logging era, further degrading the giant sequoia habitat. Despite these challenges, the grove offers opportunities for studying for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Converse Basin Grove
Converse Basin Grove is a grove of giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees in the Giant Sequoia National Monument in the Sierra Nevada, in Fresno County, California, 5 miles (8 km) north of General Grant Grove, just outside Kings Canyon National Park. Once home to the second-largest population of giant sequoias in the world, covering acres, the grove was extensively logged by the Sanger Lumber Company at the turn of the 20th century. The clearcutting of 8,000 giant sequoias, many of which were over 2,000 years old, resulted in the destruction of the old-growth forest ecosystem. The Converse Basin Grove has not recovered despite attempts at restoration in the 20th century. The planting of single-species conifer plantations and the practice of fire exclusion has resulted in two high intensity wildfires since the end of the logging era, further degrading the giant sequoia habitat. Despite these challenges, the grove offers opportunities for studying for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kings River (California)
The Kings River is a river draining the Sierra Nevada mountain range in central California in the United States. Its headwaters originate along the Sierra Crest in and around Kings Canyon National Park and form the eponymous Kings Canyon, one of the deepest river gorges in North America. The river is impounded in Pine Flat Lake before flowing into the San Joaquin Valley (the southern half of the Central Valley) southeast of Fresno. With its upper and middle course in Fresno County, the Kings River diverges into multiple branches in Kings County, with some water flowing south to the old Tulare Lake bed and the rest flowing north to the San Joaquin River. However, most of the water is consumed for irrigation well upstream of either point. Inhabited for thousands of years by the Yokuts and other native groups, the Kings River basin once fed a vast network of seasonal wetlands around Tulare Lake that supported millions of waterfowl, fish, and game animals, in turn providing suste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millwood, California
Millwood was a lumber boomtown located in present-day Sequoia National Forest near Converse Basin Grove in California. It was established in 1891 by the Kings River Lumber Company and was connected to the Sequoia Railroad, which brought logs to the town to be turned into rough lumber. The lumber was then transported by log flume to Sanger, a journey of 54 miles. At its peak, Millwood had a population of over 2,000 people and featured two hotels, a summer school, and a post office. However, today there are no remaining structures or buildings at the Millwood site. History In 1888, the Kings River Lumber Company was founded by Hiram T. Smith and Austin D. Moore. As part of their operation, they constructed the Millwood sawmill, a high-elevation mill located near the headwaters of the Kings River. The mill was connected to a 54-mile log flume, which transported lumber from the mill to the town of Sanger. Sequoia Lake, a man-made reservoir, served as the source of water for the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sequoia National Forest
Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The U.S. National Forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees which populate 38 distinct groves within the boundaries of the forest. The Giant Sequoia National Monument is located in the national forest. Other notable features include glacier-carved landscapes and impressive granite monoliths. The Needles are a series of granite spires atop a narrow ridge above the Kern River. Forest headquarters are located in Porterville, California. There are local ranger district offices in Dunlap, Kernville, Lake Isabella, and Springville. Geography The Sequoia National Forest covers , and ranges in elevation from in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to over . Its giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') groves are part of its of old growth forests. Other tree species include: *Jeffrey pine (''Pinus jeffreyi'') *Red fir (''Abies magnifica'') *Coast Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Erie Railroad main line, the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line and the Nickel Plate Road main line and shops. The company is best known for producing the Shay geared logging-steam locomotive, developed by Ephraim Shay, and for William E. Woodard's "Super Power" advanced steam locomotive concept – exemplified by the prototype 2-8-4 Berkshire, Lima demonstrator A-1. In World War II the Lima plant produced the M4A1 version of the M4 Sherman tank. History In 1878 James Alley contracted the Lima Machine Works to build a steam locomotive that Ephraim Shay had designed. In April 1880, Lima rebuilt Ephraim Shay's original design, using vertically side-mounted pistons mounted on the right, connected to a drive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cost Of Capital
In economics and accounting, the cost of capital is the cost of a company's funds (both debt and equity), or from an investor's point of view is "the required rate of return on a portfolio company's existing securities". It is used to evaluate new projects of a company. It is the minimum return that investors expect for providing capital to the company, thus setting a benchmark that a new project has to meet. Basic concept For an investment to be worthwhile, the expected return on capital has to be higher than the cost of capital. Given a number of competing investment opportunities, investors are expected to put their capital to work in order to maximize the return. In other words, the cost of capital is the rate of return that capital could be expected to earn in the best alternative investment of equivalent risk; this is the opportunity cost of capital. If a project is of similar risk to a company's average business activities it is reasonable to use the company's average cos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trestle Bridge
A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles triangles joined at their apices by a plank or beam such as the support structure for a trestle table. Each supporting frame is a bent. A trestle differs from a viaduct in that viaducts have towers that support much longer spans and typically have a higher elevation. Timber and iron trestles (i.e. bridges) were extensively used in the 19th century, the former making up from 1 to 3 percent of the total length of the average railroad. In the 21st century, steel and sometimes concrete trestles are commonly used to bridge particularly deep valleys, while timber trestles remain common in certain areas. Many timber trestles were built in the 19th and early 20th centuries with the expectation that they would be temporary. Timber trestles were use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). Lumber has many uses beyond home building. Lumber is sometimes referred to as timber as an archaic term and still in England, while in most parts of the world (especially the United States and Canada) the term timber refers specifically to unprocessed wood fiber, such as cut logs or standing trees that have yet to be cut. Lumber may be supplied either rough- sawn, or surfaced on one or more of its faces. Beside pulpwood, ''rough lumber'' is the raw material for furniture-making, and manufacture of other items requiring cutting and shaping. It is available in many species, including hardwoods and softwoods, such as white pine and red pine, because of their low cost. ''Finished lumber'' is supplied in standard sizes, mostl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
