Converse Basin

Converse Basin is a grove of giant sequoia trees located in the Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California. The grove is situated 5 miles (8 km) north of General Grant Grove, just outside of Kings Canyon National Park. It includes the Boole Tree, the sixth-largest tree in the world. It was named after Charles Porter Converse, who settled the basin prior to its logging. Converse Basin was logged of most of its giant sequoias between 1892 and 1918. Some 60-100 large specimens survive out of some 6,000. The grove is composed of thousands of young sequoias together with these few remaining mature trees. This grove was once the second largest grove of giant sequoias in the world. It offers unique opportunities to study the growth of young sequoias and to create timelines from tree rings on the stumps of cut mature trees. The grove is about 3,700 acres (15 km2) with sequoias concentrated in the basin formed by Converse Creek.