Mariposa Grove is a

sequoia grove This is a list of giant sequoia grove (nature), 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 ...

located near

Wawona, California Wawona (formerly Big Tree Station, Clark's Station, Clarks Station, Wah-wo-nah, and Clark's Ranch) is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California, United States. The population was 111 at the 2020 census. It is located entirely with ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in the southernmost part of

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

. It is the largest grove of

giant sequoia ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...

s in the park, with several hundred mature examples of the tree. Two of its trees are among the 30 largest giant sequoias in the world. The grove closed on July 6, 2015, for a restoration project and reopened on June 15, 2018. The Mariposa Grove was first visited by non-natives in 1857 when

Galen Clark Galen Clark (March 28, 1814 – March 24, 1910) was a Canadian-born American conservationist and writer. He is known as the first European American to discover the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees, and is notable for his role in gaining leg ...

and Milton Mann found it. They named the grove after Mariposa County, California, where the grove is located. The giant sequoia named

Grizzly Giant The Grizzly Giant is a Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia in Yosemite National Park's Mariposa Grove. It has been measured many times; in 1990 Wendell Flint calculated its volume at , making it the List of largest giant sequoias, 26th-largest ...

is between probably 1900–2400 years old: the oldest tree in the grove. It has a volume of , and is counted as the 25th largest tree in the world. It is tall, and has a heavily buttressed base with a basal circumference of 28 m (92 ft) or a diameter of ; above the buttresses at 2.4 m above ground, the circumference is only 23 m. Grizzly Giant's first branch from the base is 2 m (6 ft) in diameter. Another tree, the

Wawona Tree The Wawona Tree, also known as the Wawona Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, until February 1969. It had a height of and was in diameter at the base. The origin of the ...

, had a tunnel cut through it in the nineteenth century that was wide enough for horse-drawn carriages and early automobiles to drive through. Weakened by the large opening at its base, the tree fell down in a storm in 1969.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

signed an

Act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

on June 30, 1864, ceding Mariposa Grove 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. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

to the state of California. Criticism of stewardship over the land led to the state's returning the grove to federal control with the establishment of Yosemite National Park. The Mariposa Grove Museum is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The grove was threatened by the

Washburn Fire The Washburn Fire was a wildfire that burned in Yosemite National Park near the Mariposa Grove of Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoias. The fire was reported on July 7, 2022, in the lower Mariposa Grove area near the Washburn trail, for which ...

in July 2022.

Noteworthy trees

Some of the trees in the grove are: * The Fallen Monarch: A giant sequoia that fell more than three hundred years ago. Giant sequoias are resistant to decay, so their remains can linger for a long period of time if undisturbed. * The Bachelor and Three Graces: A group of four giant sequoias, three of them growing very close together, with a fourth a little more distant. Their roots are so intertwined that if one of them were to fall, it would likely bring the others along with it. * The

: The oldest tree and second largest tree in the grove, with a volume of . * The

Washington tree The Washington tree is a giant sequoia in the Giant Forest Grove in Tulare County, California, within Sequoia National Park. It is named after George Washington, first President of the United States. Until it partially collapsed in January 2005, ...

: The largest tree in the grove, with a volume of . * The General Sheridan tree: A large, tall giant sequoia located south of the Mariposa Grove Cabin. * The General Grant tree: A large giant sequoia located west of the Mariposa Grove Cabin. Not to be confused with the

General Grant Tree The General Grant tree is the largest giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California and the second largest giant sequoia tree in the world. Once thought to be well ...

Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing ...

. * The Columbia tree: The tallest tree in the grove and in Yosemite National Park at . * The California Tunnel Tree: Cut in 1895 to allow coaches to pass through it (and as a marketing scheme to attract visitors to the grove), this is the only living giant sequoia tree with a tunnel in it since the fall of the Wawona Tunnel Tree in 1969 and the fall of the

Pioneer Cabin Tree The Pioneer Cabin Tree, also known as The Tunnel Tree, was a giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. It was considered one of the U.S.'s most famous trees, and drew thousands of visitors annually. It was estimated to have ...

in 2017. * The Faithful Couple: A rare case in which two trees grew so close together that their trunks have fused together at the base. * The Clothespin tree: Countless fires throughout the decades nearly severed this tree's trunk, creating a space in it large enough for a pick-up truck to drive through. * The Telescope tree: A giant sequoia tree that has become completely hollow from repeated fires through the decades. Despite that, the tree is still living, as giant sequoias do not require a whole trunk to survive. It is possible to walk inside the tree and, from there, see the sky. This condition leaves the tree weakened and makes it more difficult for it to withstand strong winds. This tree (and the Clothespin Tree) could topple at any time. * The Galen Clark tree: Of historical importance, as it is said to be the first tree seen by

when he entered the grove, and inspired his love for the giant sequoias and struggle for setting aside the land for preservation, a new concept in the mid-19th century. * The Wawona Tunnel Tree: Renamed the "Fallen Tunnel Tree" after it toppled over during a

snow storm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...

in 1969. In 1881, this was the first tree to have a tunnel carved through its trunk. Its collapse is seen as a turning point in the preservation program in national parks in the United States. So grave was the shock of the tree's collapse that the result was a greater awareness of the sensitivity of ecosystems, even for a living thing as massive as the giant sequoias. * The Fallen Giant: It was one of the largest trees in the grove, until it fell in 1873. * The Massachusetts tree: It was one of the most famous trees in the grove. It fell in 1927.

Gallery

Fallen Monarch in November 2004.jpeg, Fallen Monarch, a fallen giant sequoia that greets visitors at the parking lot. Bachelor and Three Graces Trees, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park - June 2022.jpg, Group of sequoias known as The Bachelor and Three Graces. Tunnel Tree, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park - June 2022.jpg, California Tunnel Tree, the last living giant sequoia tunnel tree. Sequoiadendron giganteum 08165.JPG, The Clothespin Tree Cabin in Mariposa Grove of Sequoia - panoramio.jpg, The Mariposa Grove Cabin, located in the shadow of the General Grant (center) and General Sheridan (right) trees. Fallen Tunnel Tree.jpg, Wawona Tunnel Tree, also known as the Fallen Tunnel Tree. Mariposa Tree, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park - June 2022.jpg, The Mariposa Tree Faithful Couple Tree, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park - June 2022.jpg, The Faithful Couple Tree Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park - June 2022.jpg,

Museum

The Mariposa Grove Museum, also known as the Mariposa Grove Cabin, is a large cabin built in 1930. It sits in the shadow of two prominent giant sequoia trees: General Grant and General Sheridan. It was listed on the

in 1978. and The museum features numerous historic photographs and details the history of Mariposa Grove. Restrooms are inside.

References

External links

Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
- Yosemite National Park

California State

''National Geographic Society''
Record from the 38th Congress
1864 Act granting the grove to California
Record from the 59th Congress
Act returning the grove to federal control *Short radio episode

' about

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...

showing

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

the Mariposa Grove, from ''The Life and Letters of John Muir'', 1923.

California Legacy Project California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. {{Authority control Giant sequoia groves

Sequoiadendron ''Sequoiadendron'' is a genus of evergreen trees, with two species, only one of which survives to the present: * ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'', extant, commonly known as wellingtonia, giant redwood and giant sequoia, growing naturally in the Sie ...

Yosemite National Park Protected areas of Mariposa County, California

Noteworthy trees

Gallery

Museum

See also

References

Further reading

External links