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  Destinations: Got Trees?
It is difficult to appreciate the size of the giant sequoias because neighboring trees are so large. The largest of the sequoias are as tall as an average 26-story building, and their diameters at the base exceed the width of many city streets. As they continue to grow, they produce about 40 cubic feet of wood each year, approximately equal to the volume of a 50-foot-tall tree 1 foot in diameter.The ages of the General Sherman, General Grant and other large sequoias are unknown, but it is estimated that these giants are between 1800 and 2700 years old. They have seen civilization come and go, survived countless fires and long periods of drought, and continue to flourish - inspiring yet another generation of admirers.
General Sherman Tree: The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is the largest (by volume) tree in the world. The General Sherman Tree is 274.9' (83.8 meters) tall, and 102.6' (31.3 meters) in circumference at its base. Other trees in the world are taller: the tallest tree in the world is the Coast Redwood, which averages 300' - 350' (91.4 - 106.7 meters) in height. A cypress near Oaxaca, Mexico has a greater circumference, 162' (49.4 meters). But in volume of wood, the Sherman has no equal. With 52,500 cubic feet (1486.6 cubic meters) of wood, the General Sherman Tree earns the title of the World's Largest Living Thing. General Grant Tree: The General Grant is the third largest tree in the world, after the General Sherman and the Washington Trees, both found in Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed this "The Nation's Christmas Tree", and ceremonies are still held at the base of the tree on the second Sunday in December. In 1956, President Eisenhower designated the Grant Tree as a living National Shrine in memory of Americans who have died in war.The Tunnel Log: Sequoia and Kings Canyon have never had a drive-through tree - this is a point of much confusion with visitors. The Wawona Tunnel Tree, the famous "tree you can drive through", grew in the Mariposa Grove of Yosemite National Park, 100 air-miles north of Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It fell over during the severe winter of 1968-69. Visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon, denied the opportunity to drive through a tunneled standing sequoia tree, will have to be satisfied with driving though Sequoia Park's fallen "Tunnel Log" located along the Crescent Meadow Road in Giant Forest. In December 1937, an unnamed sequoia 275' (83.8 meters) high and 21' (6.4 meters) in diameter fell across the Crescent Meadow Road as a result of "natural causes". The following summer, a Civilian Conservation Corps crew cut a tunnel through the tree. The tunnel is 8' (2.4 meters) high and 17' (5.2 meters) wide, and there is a bypass for taller vehicles. Understanding Fires: People have not always understood the interactions in a sequoia forest. No sequoias had sprouted naturally in this area in over 50 years, because the park's caretakers had been "protecting" the grove by putting out all fires. Fire heats the cones of the sequoia, releasing the tree's oatmeal-sized seeds. It also clears the area below the tree of debris, which would prevent the seeds from sprouting, and of other plants, which would compete with the young trees for sunlight. Today, the Park Service intentionally sets fires in sequoia groves and elsewhere in the park to restore this natural process, and to reduce the accumulation of forest fuels that might otherwise feed unnaturally intense wildfires. Related Articles
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