"Wawona," One Of The Giant Redwood Trees In Mariposa Grove, California
The famous Mariposa Grove of big trees is situated about sixteen miles south of the Yosemite Valley, and contains about 365 trees. It was discovered in 1857 by Galen Clark, who learned of its existence from the Indians. The Indian name for the grove was "Wahwonah." For many years Mr. Clark lived here among the trees and entertained tourists in his cabin. He died in 1911 at the age of 96. One of the big trees now bears his name and has an inscription to his memory.
These big trees commonly called redwoods, once flourished in the Arctic regions, in the interior of North America and in Europe, but now are only found in California and Oregon. There are two species; the Sequoia gigantea, found on the western slopes of the Sierras, usually at an elevation of over 4,000 feet, and the Sequoia sempervirens, or true redwood, found along the coast. This is the redwood of commerce and closely resembles cedar. The name Sequoia is from an Indian chief.
This tree is a coniferous evergreen of the cypress family. It has great regularity of form and great thickness of trunk compared with its height and width of branches. Its fibrous bark is from one to two feet thick, of a rich cinnamon brown. Its wood is light, firm, straight-grained, handsome and very durable. The trees bloom toward the end of winter.
The Wawona tree, 275 feet high, is one of the most famous of the Mariposa Grove. The road through the grove passed through the base of the tree, through an opening cut ten feet square. The round trip through the grove covers about seventeen miles.