President Roosevelt and created into Kings Canyon National Park, on the same land. Due to their proximity and similarities, the administration of each park was combined in 1943. Before John Muir visited the area now known as Kings Canyon National Park, the area did not receive much attention, despite some settlers having moved there. Harold Ickes, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior was the one fighting for the formation of the Kings Canyon National Park. Before the area became an official park there were threats to the area. In 1920, the major threat was to create a reservoir in a part of the park known as the Cedar Grove Area. It was not until 1940 when the park was officially formed that the threats were dismissed. Superintendent history Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park (prior to joint administration) Reference: Geology Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park house various natural spectacles. The parks are a large part of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Its entirety, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park has been regionally affiliated with the Western region of National Park Service units. The two adjacent parks extend from the foothills of the San Joaquin Valley to the crest of the Sierra Nevada and contain the highest parts of that range. Pleistocene glaciers left an abrupt topography of granite carved canyons and domes and hundreds of glacial lakes. Among the peaks is Mount Whitney which, at 14,491 feet, is one of the tallest mountains in the United States. Other mountains range from elevation of 12,000 feet to 14,000 feet. Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park house about 200 marble caves combined. The National Park Service is committed to keeping its units operational and while preserving the beauty of the park. Although, the NPS needs to provide necessary accommodations to growing visitors to the park. The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park needs to undergo approximately $160 million in renovations to current facilities. Ecosystems The most notable vegetation is forests of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). Oak woodland (blue oak, interior live oak) and chaparral with chamise and manzanita characterize the lower elevations. Mixed conifer forest with Colorado white fir, red fir, western yellow pine (ponderosa pine), sugar pine and lodgepole pine forests and montane meadows occupy the middle elevations. Subalpine forests with foxtail pine, whitebark pine and meadows, krummholz, and alpine ecosystems typify