Avalanche Pass (California)
Avalanche Pass is a high mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Fresno County, California. It is located in Kings Canyon National Park.
Geography
Avalanche Pass sits below Palmer Mountain along the lower edge of the Sphinx Crest, which separates the Roaring River and Bubbs Creek sub-watersheds of the Kings River Canyon.In order to reach Avalanche Pass, hikers and packers must climb over a distance of from the bottom of the Kings River Canyon on the Avalanche Pass trail.
Ecology
Avalanche Pass is in the Sierra Nevada subalpine zone, which occurs between.The pass and the surrounding high mountains are host to an extensive forest of Foxtail Pine, a rare endemic species of pine found in just two remote and relatively small ranges, both in the state of California. The species only occurs on poor, rocky substrates between in elevation. Some individuals of this species live for over 2,000 years.
They are the only species of tree in the Sierra Nevada that can survive the exceptionally harsh conditions at the cusp of the tree line.