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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park SEKI Fee Entrance
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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park
Giant Forest Webcam Link
 
Layers of polluted air hang over the valley beyond a ridge of hills.
WEBCAM: A VIEW IN EARLY SUMMER
Compare this with today's conditions by clicking the VIEW TODAY link to the right.
The webcam looks west from the Giant Forest. Rarely can you see both the San Joaquin Valley and the Coast Range beyond that. In this photo from early summer, a gray layer of polluted air can be seen forming over the valley.
With increasing air pollution blowing up into the Sierra Nevada from the Bay Area and the Valley, clear days are becoming ever more rare.
 
The Giant Forest webcam is one of a network of digital cameras at many parks to help educate the public on air-quality issues. These cameras often show the effects of air pollution such as visibility impairment. Because these cameras are part of air-quality-monitoring sites, their web pages display other information along with the latest photo: current levels of ozone, particulate matter, or sulfur dioxide air pollutants, visual range, and weather conditions.

NEW!  Charts of the last ten days of hourly weather, ozone, particulate matter, or sulfur dioxide data are now available. To view, click the blue "10-day Charts" tab now appearing on the right side of each park's web camera home page.

The digital photos are usually updated every 15 minutes, while air quality data values are revised hourly.

Go to the Giant Forest Webcam page > > >

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Sequoia cross-section shows evidence of much fire damage and recovery

Did You Know?
Sequoia tree rings tell a fascinating story of survival and adaptation. Many sequoia cross-sections do not show a neat set of concentric growth rings. Among the rings are many scars — indicating repeated fire damage — and as many curved rings, the growth that eventually covered over the scars.

Last Updated: February 17, 2009 at 12:56 MST