Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park
IUCN category II (national park)[1]
The General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world (measured by volume), in 2022
Location in California Show map of California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Tulare County, California, United States
Nearest city	Visalia, California
Coordinates	36°33′53″N 118°46′22″W / 36.56472°N 118.77278°W / 36.56472; -118.77278
Area	404,064 acres (1,635.19 km2)[2]
Established	September 25, 1890
Visitors	1,153,198 (in 2022)[3]
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	nps.gov/seki

Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects 404,064 acres (631 sq mi; 163,519 ha; 1,635 km²)^[2] of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly 13,000 feet (4,000 m), the park contains the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) above sea level.^[4] The park is south of, and contiguous with, Kings Canyon National Park; both parks are administered by the National Park Service together as Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. UNESCO designated the areas as Sequoia-Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 1976.^[5]

The park is notable for its giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth by volume. The General Sherman tree grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five of the ten largest trees in the world. The Giant Forest is connected by the Generals Highway to Kings Canyon National Park's General Grant Grove, home of the General Grant tree among other giant sequoias. The park's giant sequoia forests are part of 202,430 acres (316 sq mi; 81,921 ha; 819 km²) of old-growth forests shared by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.^[6] The parks preserve a landscape that was first cultivated by the Monache tribe, the southern Sierra Nevada before Euro-American settlement.^{[7][failed verification]}