Geology of Giant Forest-Lodgepole area, Sequoia National Park, California

Sisson, Thomas; Moore, James

This report and accompanying geologic map sheet briefly describe the geology of the Giant Forest and Lodgepole area in Sequoia National Park, California. The map and report are ancilliary to a detailed water resources study of Wolverton and Long Meadows. Our mapping, though more detailed, supports and reiterates most of the conclusions reached by Ross (1958) in his study of a larger area of Sequoia National Park, including the area covered by the present work. The map area covers parts of the Triple Divide Peak and Giant Forest 15 minute quadrangles, and includes 60 square miles. The many important groves of Sequoia Gigantea (giant redwood trees) which occur within the mapped area attract a large number of park visitors each year. As a result much of the park development for camping, housing, and access is concentrated in this area. Consequently the general geology of this region should be of interest to the park visitors, ranger-naturalists, and land use planners; a less technical, more popular, report on the general geology of this important area is planned and will be based in large part on this report. Metamorphic rocks of controversial origin, and parts of two major sequences of granitic intrusions are highlights of the bedrock geology. The strongly "U"-shaped Tokopah Valley is a striking example of a canyon cut by glacial action. The Tahoe and Tioga moraines flanking the valley are perhaps the most easily accessible well-preserved late Pleistocene glacial deposits on the west side of the Sierra Nevada.

Geology of Giant Forest-Lodgepole area, Sequoia National Park, California

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