Mineral King

Mineral King is a subalpine glacial valley located in the southern part of Sequoia National Park, in the U.S. state of California. The valley lies at the headwaters of the East Fork of the Kaweah River, which rises at the eastern part of the valley and flows northwest. Accessed by a long and narrow winding road, the valley is mostly popular with backpackers and hikers.

Historically, the valley was inhabited by the Yokuts tribe during the summer months. They would come up to escape the high heat of the Central Valley and to hunt and forage. They would also meet with bands coming over from the eastern side of the Sierra to trade. In the 1870s, silver was discovered on the slopes of a mountain overlooking Mineral King. Mineral King Road was built in 1873 and was gradually improved throughout the early 20th century.

On September 19, 1966, Walt Disney Productions announced plans to build a ski resort called "Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort" in the valley. The project was canceled after lengthy opposition by preservationists, including the Sierra Club. In 1978, the valley became part of Sequoia National Park.

The name Mineral King also refers to the historic mining camps and towns in and near the valley, including Silver City and Cabin Cove. The settlements as a whole are referred to as the Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Mineral King is a 7.5-mile-long (12.1 km), 1-mile-wide (1.6 km) glacial valley in the southern Sierra Nevada. The valley floor lies at an elevation of 7,400 feet (2,300 m), while the granite peaks rising above the head of the valley reach heights of 11,000 feet (3,400 m) or more. As the crow flies, Mineral King is located about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Three Rivers, which is near the confluence of the East Fork Kaweah River and Middle Fork Kaweah River.

The valley floor is an expanse of open meadows with a narrow strip of riparian vegetation, including short trees and bushes, along the East Fork Kaweah River. As the flat meadows give way to rocky slopes, there are many congregations of conifers that climb the slopes to the tree line. Above the tree line, there are sheer or almost sheer granite walls that slope up to form Sawtooth Peak, Empire Mountain, Mineral Peak, Hengst Peak, and others. There are two prominent mountain passes leading out of Mineral King: Timber Gap, which leads into the Middle Fork Kaweah River drainage, and Farewell Gap at the valley head, which leads into the Kern River drainage. The first half of the valley runs from south to north and the second half runs from east to west.

Fed by snowmelt, springs, and abundant lakes in granite bowls at the upstream end of the valley, creeks plunge down the steep valley walls as long and twisting waterfalls. These include Tufa Falls, Crystal Creek Falls, and Franklin Falls, in upstream order. This section of the valley is dotted with tributary gorges that fan out from the main canyon. Lakes in this section of the valley include the Mosquito Lakes, Eagle Lake, the Franklin Lakes, and the Crystal Lakes. From the end of the valley, the East Fork Kaweah River drops over Mineral King Falls and East Fork Falls, before continuing down a steep and narrow gorge, following Mineral King Road.

Mineral King is one of the oldest communities in the High Sierra, with many families owning cabins for six or seven generations. Many of the communities date from the 1870s silver boom and have been inhabited since.