Granite dome rock formation with views from the rock encompasses much of the park, including the Great Western Divide

How to Get There

Overview

Moro Rock is a granite dome rock formation in Sequoia National Park. It is located in the center of the park, at the head of Moro Creek, between Giant Forest and Crescent Meadow. A stairway, designed by the National Park Service and built in 1931, is cut into and poured onto the rock, so that visitors can hike to the top. The view from the rock encompasses much of the Park, including the Great Western Divide.

The road to Moro Rock is closed in winter, so visitors need to hike 2 miles to reach the viewpoint. The road is open in summer so the hike is shortened.

Geology

Moro Rock is a dome-shaped granite monolith. Common in the Sierra Nevada, these domes form by exfoliation, the spalling or casting off in scales, plates, or sheets of rock layers on otherwise unjointed granite. Outward expansion of the granite results in exfoliations. Expansion results from load relief; when the overburden that once capped the granite has eroded away, the source of compression is removed and the granite slowly expands. Fractures that form during exfoliation tend to cut corners. This ultimately results in rounded dome-like forms.

Moro Rock Stairway

The first stairway leading to the summit of Moro Rock was constructed of wood and installed in 1917. This stairway deteriorated significantly by the late 1920s, and was replaced in 1931 by the present Moro Rock Stairway, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Unlike the earlier stairway, the new stairway adopted a design policy of blending with the natural surfaces to the greatest extent possible. The 797-foot-long stairway was designed by National Park Service landscape architect Merel S. Sager and engineer John Diehl, following natural ledges and crevices. It has 400 steps that lead to the summit of Moro Rock.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sequoia National Park ", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0