Tehipite Valley, a glacial valley of the
Middle Fork Kings River
The Middle Fork Kings River is a tributary of the Kings River in Kings Canyon National Park, California, in the southern Sierra Nevada. Draining – almost all of it wilderness – the Middle Fork is one of the largest wholly undeveloped water ...
, is located in
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings ...
in the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The valley is in
Fresno County
Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...
about southwest of
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
and east of
Fresno
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
and is known for its
Yosemite
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 ...
-like scenery and its extreme isolation.
Geography
The valley, about long and up to three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) wide, is characterized by high, extremely steep granite walls, side canyons and waterfalls.
The valley's scenery has been frequently compared to that of
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 ...
, starting with
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 ...
who first visited the area in the 1870s.
It is situated just inside the western boundary of Kings Canyon National Park and on the northern edge of the
Monarch Wilderness
The Monarch Wilderness (also Monarch Wilderness Complex) is a federally designated wilderness area located 70 miles east of Fresno, California, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It encompasses within both the Sequoia National Forest and the S ...
. The Middle Fork flows swiftly from northeast to southwest through the valley. The valley floor is at an elevation of while the surrounding peaks rise to heights of or more.
On a 1917 National Park Service expedition to Tehipite Valley, Robert Sterling Yard described the place as thus:
The north side of Tehipite Valley is dominated by Tehipite Dome, the largest granite dome in the Sierra Nevada, rising above the valley floor.
Notable features of the valley include Silver Spray and Blue Canyon Falls, both cascades hundreds of feet high
and the rugged, nearly inaccessible Gorge of Despair formed by Crystal Creek which provides "some of the finest technical rock climbing in the Sierra".
History
The valley was named in 1869 by Frank Dusy, taking the Native American name for Tehipite Dome meaning "high rock".
Dusy's expeditions were also the first to photograph the valley, doing so in 1879.
Although Dusy is credited with being the first non-native person to visit the valley, he recorded in his journal that he followed a trail possibly used by prospectors in search of gold, several years earlier. Lilbourne A. Winchell, a member of the 1879 Dusy expedition, wrote of his initial impression of the valley:
In 1897 Theodore S. Solomon made one of the first maps of the valley, on which was also the first recorded mention of "Gorge of Despair".
[Browning, p. 96]
In the 1920s the City of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
proposed the Tehipite Valley as the site of a hydroelectric dam. This was one of the key controversies before, and for many years after the establishment of Kings Canyon National Park. The initial dedication of the park on March 4, 1940 by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
did not include Tehipite Valley; it was not until 1965 when Tehipite Valley and
Cedar Grove were finally added to the park, making them forever off-limits to industrial development.
Access
The valley is known for its extreme remoteness, and is many miles from the nearest paved road (
Highway 180). On some days, it receives no visitors at all.
One of the major trails to the valley is the Tehipite Valley Trail, which begins at the access road for
Wishon Dam
Wishon Dam (National ID # CA00411) is a dam in Fresno County, California in the Sierra National Forest, in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It impounds the North Fork Kings River to form Wishon Reservoir.
The earthen and rockfill gravity dam wa ...
. The National Park Service describes the hike to the valley rim as "moderate" and the descent into the valley as "very strenuous".
Due to the high elevation of the incoming trails and heavy snows in winter, Tehipite Valley is inaccessible for up to eight months of the year. The difficulty of access is compounded by the fact that many trails have deteriorated. In addition the area is known for
rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small anim ...
s.
There are primitive campsites in the valley, along the Middle Fork.
See also
*
Tehipite Valley jewelflower
''Streptanthus fenestratus'' is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Tehipite Valley jewelflower.
Distribution
It is endemic to Fresno County, California, where it is known only from the high mou ...
References
{{coord, 36.909, -118.782, type:landmark_region:US-CA_dim:3000, display=title
Canyons and gorges of California
Kings Canyon National Park
Valleys of Fresno County, California