The General Grant tree is the largest giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California, and the second largest giant sequoia tree in the world after the General Sherman tree. Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old, recent estimates suggest the General Grant tree is closer to 1,650 years old. [1] The tree also features the third largest footprint of any living giant sequoia, measuring 107.6 ft (32.8 m) in circumference at ground level. [2]
The tree was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general and the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" on April 28, 1926. Due in large part to its huge base, the General Grant tree was thought to be the largest tree in the world prior to 1931, when the first precise measurements indicated that the General Sherman was slightly larger. On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war. It is the only living object to be so declared. [3]
In September 2003, General Grant moved up one place in the giant sequoia size rankings when the Washington tree lost its crown and the hollow upper half of its trunk after a fire caused by a lightning strike.
Height above base [2] | 267.4 ft | 81.5 m |
---|---|---|
Circumference at ground [2] | 107.6 ft | 32.8 m |
Diameter 4.5 ft (1.4 m) above highest point on ground [2] | 28.9 ft | 8.8 m |
Diameter 60 ft (18 m) above base [2] | 16.3 ft | 5.0 m |
Diameter 180 ft (55 m) above base [2] | 12.9 ft | 3.9 m |
Estimated bole volume [2] | 46,608 cu ft | 1,320 m3 |
Sequoiadendron giganteum, also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood or Sierra redwood is a coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the most massive trees on Earth. They occur naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California.
Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving two groves of giant sequoia trees. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada. It has been a major tourist attraction since 1852, when the existence of the trees was first widely reported, and is considered the longest continuously operated tourist facility in California.
General Grant Grove, a section of the greater Kings Canyon National Park, was established by the U.S. Congress in 1890 and is located in Fresno County, California. The primary attraction of General Grant Grove is the giant sequoia trees that populate the grove. General Grant Grove's most well-known tree is called General Grant, which is 267 ft (81 m) tall and the third-largest known tree in the world. The General Grant tree is over 1,500 years old and is known as the United States' national Christmas tree. General Grant Grove consists of 154 acres (0.62 km2) and is geographically isolated from the rest of Kings Canyon National Park.
The Washington tree is a giant sequoia in the Giant Forest Grove in Tulare County, California, within Sequoia National Park. It is named after George Washington, first President of the United States. Until it partially collapsed in January 2005, the Washington tree was the second largest tree in the world. Though badly damaged, the tree is still living.
Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The U.S. National Forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia trees which populate 38 distinct groves within the boundaries of the forest.
The Giant Forest, famed for its giant sequoia trees, is within the United States' Sequoia National Park. This montane forest, situated at over 6,000 ft (1,800 m) above mean sea level in the western Sierra Nevada of California, covers an area of 1,880 acres (7.6 km2). The Giant Forest is the most accessible of all giant sequoia groves, as it has over 40 mi (64 km) of hiking trails.
The President is a giant sequoia located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in the United States, east of Visalia, California. It is approximately 247 feet (75 m) high, and 27 feet (8.2 m) in diameter at the base. The President is the third-largest tree in the world, measured by volume of trunk, and the oldest-known living sequoia, about 3,200 years old. As of 2012, the volume of its trunk measured at about 45,000 cubic feet (1,300 m3), with an additional 9,000 cubic feet (250 m3) of branches.
Lincoln is the name of a huge giant sequoia located in Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park. It is currently considered by many to be the fourth largest tree in the world.
The Boole Tree is a giant sequoia in the Giant Sequoia National Monument, Fresno County, California. The Boole Tree is the eighth tallest sequoia in the world and is the largest in terms of base circumference at 113 feet. It is estimated to be more than 2,000 years old. The tree's stature is accentuated by its isolation above the Kings River where it towers over the rest of the forest.
Franklin is a giant sequoia in Giant Forest, a sequoia grove where the largest tree in the world lives - the General Sherman. The Franklin tree is the eighth largest giant sequoia in the world. It was named by Wendell Flint after Benjamin Franklin. Nearby trees include the Washington Tree which was once the second largest tree in the world, but since it lost half its trunk in 2005 many sequoias are now larger.
The Robert E. Lee tree is the second largest giant sequoia in the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park, and the eleventh largest giant sequoia in the world. Richard Field, a Confederate lieutenant, named this tree in honor of Robert E. Lee around 1875. In 2020, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks removed references to the name in Park materials, in an effort to promote inclusiveness following the George Floyd protests; however, the name cannot be changed without the approval of Congress or the National Park Service.
Ishi Giant is a giant sequoia in California, United States. It is located in Kennedy Grove, which is part of a group of eight closely spaced giant sequoia groves situated in Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada in eastern central California. It was the 14th largest giant sequoia in the world before it atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015.
The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is the consolidated management structure for Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in California. The two parks have been jointly administered since 1943. They have a combined size of 1,353 square miles (3,500 km2). It was designated the UNESCO Sequoia-Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 1976.
John Adams, also known as just Adams, is a giant sequoia located within the Giant Forest Grove of Sequoia National Park, California. The tree was named after John Adams, the 2nd president of the United States. The tree is the thirteenth largest giant sequoia in the world.
Washington is a giant sequoia located within Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, California. The tree was named after George Washington, the 1st president of the United States. It is the 18th largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered the 17th largest depending on how badly Ishi Giant atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015. It is also the largest giant sequoia north of Boole.
Big Stump Grove is a giant sequoia grove located at the southwest entrance of Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada of California. It is one of a group of eight close but narrowly separated Giant Sequoia groves situated in Giant Sequoia National Monument and Kings Canyon National Park.
Above Diamond, also known by the abbreviation AD, is a giant sequoia located within the Atwell Mill Grove of Sequoia National Park, California. Naturalists Dennis Coggins, Wendell D. Flint, and Michael M. Law named the tree "Above Diamond" after Diamond, a giant sequoia located just downhill from the tree. It is the second largest tree in Atwell Mill Grove, the 24th largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered the 23rd largest depending on how badly Ishi Giant atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015.
Chief Sequoyah is a giant sequoia located within the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in California. It is the 9th largest tree in Giant Forest grove, the 27th largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered the 26th largest depending on how badly Ishi Giant atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015.
The Mark Twain Tree was a giant sequoia tree located in the Big Stump Forest of Kings Canyon National Park. It was named after the American writer and humorist Mark Twain. It had a diameter of 4.8 meters when it was felled in 1891 for the American Museum of Natural History.