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 in Nevada. The Sierra Nevada is part of the American Cordillera, an almost continuous chain of mountain ranges that forms the western "backbone" of the Americas.
A log flume or lumber flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Logging operations preferred flumes whenever a reliable source of water was available. Flumes were cheaper to build and operate than logging railroads. They could span long distances across chasms with more lightweight trestles.
The Kings River, is a 132.9-mile (213.9 km) river draining the Sierra Nevada mountain range in central California in the United States. Its headwaters originate along the Sierra Crest in and around Kings Canyon National Park and form the eponymous Kings Canyon, one of the deepest river gorges in North America. The river is impounded in Pine Flat Lake before flowing into the San Joaquin Valley southeast of Fresno. With its upper and middle course in Fresno County, the Kings River diverges into multiple branches in Kings County, with some water flowing south to the old Tulare Lake bed and the rest flowing north to the San Joaquin River. However, most of the water is consumed for irrigation well upstream of either point.
Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada in California, bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and on the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for its mountain scenery and beautiful lakes. Forest headquarters are located in Clovis, California. There are local ranger district offices in North Fork and Prather.
Nelder Grove, located in the western Sierra Nevada within the Sierra National Forest in Madera County, California, is a Giant sequoia grove that was formerly known as Fresno Grove. The grove is a 1,540-acre (6.2 km2) tract containing 60 mature Giant Sequoia trees, the largest concentration of giant sequoias in the Sierra National Forest. The grove also contains several historical points of interest, including pioneer cabins, giant sequoia stumps left by 19th-century loggers, and the site where the Forest King exhibition tree was felled in 1870 for display.
John Samuel Eastwood was an American engineer who built the world's first reinforced concrete multiple-arch dam on bedrock foundation at Hume Lake, California, in 1908, and was one of California's pioneers of hydroelectric power production. Eastwood's papers are held at the Water Resources Collections and Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Bass Lake, situated in Madera County, California, within the Sierra National Forest and approximately 14 mi (23 km) south of Yosemite National Park, is a popular recreational area. The lake, formed by the Crane Valley Dam on Willow Creek, a tributary to the San Joaquin River, spans about four miles (6.4 km) in length and one-half mile (0.80 km) in width. Constructed in 1910 by Pacific Gas and Electric, the 145 ft (44 m) concrete gravity dam generates hydro-electric power through controlled releases. The lake supports a diverse ecosystem, including species such as black bears, mule deer, bald eagles, and Great blue herons, along with a variety of fish species.
Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation 5,500 ft (1,700 m), several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project. The town Shaver Lake is located on its south-west shore.
Huntington Lake is a reservoir in Fresno County, California on Big Creek, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 6,955 feet (2,120 m). The lake receives water from Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, as well as the many streams that flow into the lake. Some water leaving the lake flows to Big Creek, while some is diverted to nearby Shaver Lake. The lake is home to a variety of recreational activities, including camping, horse-back riding, skiing, sailing, fishing and more. It is drained and refilled through the Big Creek dam system each year, with winter water levels often dipping below 50 percent of the lake's capacity.
The Kaweah River is a river draining the southern Sierra Nevada in Tulare County, California in the United States. Fed primarily by high elevation snowmelt along the Great Western Divide, the Kaweah begins as four forks in Sequoia National Park, where the watershed is noted for its alpine scenery and its dense concentrations of giant sequoias, the largest trees on Earth. It then flows in a southwest direction to Lake Kaweah – the only major reservoir on the river – and into the San Joaquin Valley, where it diverges into multiple channels across an alluvial plain around Visalia. With its Middle Fork headwaters starting at almost 13,000 feet (4,000 m) above sea level, the river has a vertical drop of nearly two and a half miles (4.0 km) on its short run to the San Joaquin Valley, making it one of the steepest river drainages in the United States. Although the main stem of the Kaweah is only 33.6 miles (54.1 km) long, its total length including headwaters and lower branches is nearly 100 miles (160 km).
Converse Basin Grove is a grove of giant sequoia trees in the Giant Sequoia National Monument in the Sierra Nevada, in Fresno County, California, 5 miles (8 km) north of General Grant Grove, just outside Kings Canyon National Park. Once home to the largest population of giant sequoias in the world, covering 4,600 acres (19 km2) acres, the grove was extensively logged by the Sanger Lumber Company at the turn of the 20th century. The clearcutting of 8,000 giant sequoias, many of which were over 2,000 years old, resulted in the destruction of the old-growth forest ecosystem.
Hume is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It is located 50 miles (80 km) east of Fresno, at an elevation of 5344 feet. Hume is located in the 93628 ZIP Code, in area code 559.
Wishon Dam 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.
Hume Lake Christian Camps is a non-denominational, nonprofit parachurch organization and is one of the largest operators of Christian camps and conference centers in the world. Hume operates year-round camps and conference centers at multiple locations with programing for youth, family, and adults and has hosted more than 1 million visitors. Hume's camps focus on Bible teaching and worship services.
The Hume-Bennett Lumber Company was a logging operation in the Sequoia National Forest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company and its predecessors were known for building the world's longest log flume and the first multiple-arch hydroelectric dam. However, the company also engaged in destructive clearcutting logging practices, cutting down 8,000 giant sequoias in Converse Basin in a decade-long event that has been described as "the greatest orgy of destructive lumbering in the history of the world."
The Madera Sugar Pine Company was a United States lumber company that operated in the Sierra Nevada region of California during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company distinguished itself through the use of innovative technologies, including the southern Sierra's first log flume and logging railroad, along with the early adoption of the Steam Donkey engine. Its significant regional impact led to the establishment of towns such as Madera, Fish Camp, and Sugar Pine, as well as the growth of Fresno Flats and the formation of Madera County.
The Sugar Pine Lumber Company was an early 20th century logging operation and railroad in the Sierra Nevada. Unable to secure water rights to build a log flume, the company operated the “crookedest railroad ever built." They later developed the Minarets-type locomotive, the largest and most powerful saddle tank locomotive ever made. The company was also a pioneer in the electrification of logging where newly plentiful hydroelectric power replaced the widespread use of steam engines.
Millwood was a lumber boomtown located in present-day Sequoia National Forest near Converse Basin Grove in California. It was established in 1891 by the Kings River Lumber Company and was connected to the Sequoia Railroad, which brought logs to the town to be turned into rough lumber. The lumber was then transported by log flume to Sanger, a journey of 54 miles. At its peak, Millwood had a population of over 2,000 people and featured two hotels, a summer school, and a post office. However, today there are no remaining structures or buildings at the Millwood site.
The Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company was established in 1891 as a logging and water transportation company in California. A 45-mile cedar flume was built to transport lumber from Shaver Lake to the finishing mill in Clovis. The company changed its name to the Fresno Flume and Lumber Company in 1908, and over the course of its 21-year lifespan, cut an average of 25 million board feet of lumber each year. However, in 1912, the company was sold and ceased all operations after a storm destroyed 2 miles (3.2 km) of the flume. In 1919, Southern California Edison Company bought most of the Shaver property for the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project.
The following is a timeline of the history of the Sierra National Forest in Central California, United States.
