Sequoia National Park

The state of California has multiple and unique geological phenomenon that ranges along the entire length of the state. This creates a diversity of landscapes and climates that make California an excellent place to visit. One magnificent place to visit is Sequoia National Park, which is located in the southern end slopes of Sierra Nevada Mountains. The distinctive and unique natural phenomena that Sequoia national park possesses is due to its location, difference of ground elevation and weather.
The park is known for having exceptional canyons, caves, coniferous forests, and rivers. Its forests are noticeable for its large variety of tree species and groves of giant Sequoias trees. Even though most of the mature Sequoias trees in the park are
As previously mentioned, the park is located in the southern end slopes of the Sierra Nevada range and east to San Joaquin Valley. It has an approximated area of 402,510 acres (Sequoia). However, the park varies in ground elevation do it to its location and large area. Its “elevations extend from 1,300 feet (418m) in the foothills to 14,494 feet (4,421m) at the summit of Mount Whitney,” (United). It is worth to mention that the park highest altitudes are due to the presence of the Sierra Nevada range which went through a long process to be as they are now. According to the United States Geological Survey, most of the Sierra Nevada Mountains are formed by granitic rock that formed in the Mesozoic Era where volcanoes erupted and left molted rock, as the form of lava, on the surface. Later, the molted rock cold and solidified leaving the granitic rock. However. The process did not end there. It was not until than 5 million years ago that the range “began to rise along its eastern margin. Through a combination of uplift of the Sierra block and down-dropping of the area to the east, the Sierra rose upward. Rising far more steeply to the east than the west,”(USGS). Likewise, Joel Michaelse, a professor emeritus of geography at the Earth Research Institute, states, “The Sierra granitic rocks were formed as a result of the subduction of a denser oceanic crustal plate beneath the western margin of the North American plate as the two plates collided.” (Michaelse). In short, the volcanoes set the soil and later the colliding plates helped to raise the ground leaving the white and gray mountains that we know today. The difference of terrain elevation and composition of the soil on the sequoia park area provides the perfect formation of canyons; since rivers cut and carry the loose rock