PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK

Updated 04-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK!

Balconies Cave in Pinnacles National Park: Balconies Cave: trail description, photos, GPS map and directions for a fun hike down Balconies Trail to talus caves on the west side of Pinnacles National Park

California condors: Chick born in wild flies from nest at Pinnacles National Park for first time in a century: Scientists say it’s a key success story for North America’s largest bird as it continues a slow but steady path from near extinction.

Bill creating Pinnacles National Park awaits Obama’s signature: Bill creating Pinnacles National Park awaits Obama’s signature

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: pinnacles national park is an american national park protecting a mountainous area located east of the Salinas Valley in Central California . the park’s namesakes are the eroded leftovers of the western half of an pinnacles was originally established as a national monument in 1908 by president theodore Roosevelt . park lands are prime habitat for prairie falcons, and are a release site for condors hatched in capt the establishment of a Spanish mission at Soledad hastened the area’s native depopulation through disease and dispersion . archaeological surveys have found 13 sites inhabited by Native Americans . the first account of the Pinnacles region appeared in print in 1881 . between 1889 and 1891, newspaper articles shifted to calling them the “Pinnacles” investors came from San Francisco to consider placing a resort in 1894, a post office was established in Bear Valley. Schuyler Hain was the postmaster . in 1924, the post office renamed “Pinnacles” Hain led tours to Bear Valley and through the caves, advocating the preservation of the Pinnacles . his cousin, a student at Stanford, brought G.K. Gilbert to see the pinnacles in 1893 gifford pinchot advocated establishment of Pinnacles forest reserve . peter bergen: he was influenced to advocate establishment . he says pinnacles was an “extraordinary mountain” described by Pinnacles National Monument was created in 1908 with power given him in the Antiquities Act of 1906 . the initial area designated under the antiquities act was 2,080 acres (840 ha) no drivable roads Congressman Everis A. Hayes made a trip into the Pinnacles in 1913 as part of the campaign for road funds . by 1914 primitive roads extended to Bear Valley . the national park service was finally established in a caretaker was appointed from a local homestead . the monument was enlarged by proclamation of President Warren G. Harding . a further proclamation enlarged the monument on July 2, 1924, securing water sources and campsites . money was appropriated to build a ranger’s cabin, completed in 1929, while facilities within the cave in 1933, a civilian conservation corps camp was established for about 200 men . old mining claims were incorporated into the monument in 1958 . a fire lookout was built by the CCC on Chalone Peak in 1935 the park’s visitor center and headquarters were built in 1936–37 from local stone . a superintendent’s residence was started in 1941 and completed in 1949 . the mission 66 project added lands and new projects . the change in designation does not change the park’s status, management, or purpose . Congress specified in the 1970 General Authorities Act and the 1978 Redwood Act that all units of the National Park System are to be treated on equal status the plant hardiness zone at the Painted Desert Visitor Center (1056 ft / 322 m) is 8b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 19.3 °F (-7.1 °C) the the National Weather Service has a cooperative weather station at the park headquarters . January temperatures are a maximum of 60.8 °F (16.0 °C) and a minimum of 32.7 °f (0.4 °c average annual precipitation is 16.55 inches (420 mm) . the wettest calendar year was 1983 with 35.80 inches (909 mm), and the driest 1947 with 6.08 inches (154 mm). movement of the Pacific Plate along the San Andreas fault split a section of rock off from the main body of the volcano . differential erosion and weathering of the exposed rock created the Pinnacles that are seen today . the original location of the San Andreas fault can be seen in the Chalone Creek fault . two other large faults are known to run through the park, the Miner’s Gulch and Pinnacles faults . evidence of past and ongoing seismic activity can be seen in offset streams where they cross faults . valley bottoms and terraces show signs of uplift . a California condor re-establishment program has been in pinnacles has had a small problem with wild pigs disturbing the landscape on a regular basis . as of spring 2006, the core of the park was pig-free . national park service personnel and IWS worked the park’s talus caves provide roosting and breeding habitat for the bats . in the 1990s, a student biologist did a census of bees at Pinnacles . Pinnacles national park has a Chaparral (33) potential vegetation type . the vegetation is about 80% chaparral with woodlands, riparian, and grasslands merged . in the warmer portions of the park fire has been a dominant influence on the region’s flora, both from natural causes and intentional intervention by people . since the disappearance of native peoples, the hills have become brushier . wilderness designation Pinnacles Wilderness and several others added to the national wilderness preservation system . a wide variety of wildflowers is on display, except in years of extreme drought . trails provide views of the surrounding hills and valley the park is popular with advanced rock climbers due to the many difficult climbs . Bear Gulch Cave and Balconies Cave are seasonally open to visitors . the caves at Pinnacles are talus caves caves house breeding colonies for Townsend’s big-eared bat and are closed during pupping season . the caves may be flooded at times of high water . climbing is also popular at Pinnacles National rock quality, volcanic breccia, can break while climbing. NASA Earth Observatory: Satellite images California-birding: Bird Watching at Pinnacles National Park Pinnacle photoblog from bRaNdSbo