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 (after the General Sherman tree). Though badly damaged, the tree is still living.
The tree was studied in 1999 by scientists from Humboldt State University and University of Washington. The tree was 253.7 feet (77.3 m) tall, with a basal diameter of 29.9 feet (9.1 m). Its total volume was 49,550 cubic feet (1,403 m3), including the main stem 47,930 cubic feet (1,357 m3) and the 46 largest branches 1,620 cubic feet (46 m3). The scientists discovered a large cavity in the trunk of the tree, measuring 115 feet (35 m) in height by 10 feet (3.0 m) in diameter. The cavity was accessible only by a hole situated 190 feet (58 m) above the ground. The significance of this finding is that the volume of wood in the tree had been greatly overestimated by previous measurements. [1]
In September 2003, a fire caused by a lightning strike damaged the tree's crown. National Park Service officials decided to let the fire burn without human intervention. The tree lost a large portion of its crown in the fire, reducing its height to about 229 feet (70 m). [2]
The structurally weakened tree partially collapsed in January 2005, as the result of a heavy snow load in the remaining portion of its crown. The tree lost more than half its height, most of its branches, and much of the trunk, including the entire hollow upper portion of the trunk. It is now 115 feet (35 m) high, with only a few branches living near the top of the tree. [2]
The Washington tree is no longer one of the top ten largest giant sequoias, though the National Park Service still lists it as the second largest, due to current documentation policy (trees are calculated as if they did not suffer damage). Even in its damaged state, the tree may not be dying, as it still has half a dozen significant branches. Many other sequoias have survived with less foliage, and the tree might live decades or centuries longer. [2]
One side of the Washington tree has been showing signs of regrowth since at least 2007. [3]
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.
General Sherman is a giant sequoia tree located at an elevation of 2,109 m (6,919 ft) above sea level in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, in the U.S. state of California. By volume, it is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth. It is estimated to be around 2,200 to 2,700 years old.
The General Grant tree is the largest giant sequoia in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California and the second largest giant sequoia tree in the world. Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old, recent estimates suggest the General Grant tree is closer to 1,650 years old. 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.
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.
Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California, United States, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park. It is the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature examples of the tree. Two of its trees are among the 30 largest giant sequoias in the world. The grove closed on July 6, 2015, for a restoration project and reopened on June 15, 2018.
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.
Mountain Home Grove is a grove of giant sequoia trees located in the southern part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, and includes some of the largest trees in the world.
The Evans Grove Complex is a complex of seven giant sequoia groves located in the Kings River watershed on the southern slopes of Kings Canyon in Giant Sequoia National Monument. It is formed from the Evans, Lockwood, Little Boulder, Boulder, Kennedy, Windy Gulch, and Horseshoe Bend groves. The complex is home to a rich collection of old-growth giant sequoias covering a combined 2,270 acres (9.2 km2).
The Belknap Complex, sometimes referred to as Belknap Grove, is a complex of three giant sequoia groves located in the Tule River watershed of Giant Sequoia National Monument, just south of Camp Nelson, California. It is formed from the larger McIntyre Grove and Wheel Meadow Grove, and the smaller Carr Wilson Grove. The grove is home to a rich collection of old-growth giant sequoias spread out over 4,666 acres (18.88 km2). The grove is fairly easy to reach by car given its close proximity to Highway 190. Forest Trail 31E30 meanders through the heart of the complex.
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 Genesis Tree is a giant sequoia that is the seventh largest tree in the world. It is located within the Mountain Home Grove, a giant sequoia grove located in Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest in the Sierra Nevada of eastern California. The Genesis Tree was heavily damaged by the Castle Fire in 2020.
Long Meadow Grove, also known as Redwood Meadow Grove, is a giant sequoia grove located within Sequoia National Forest approximately 3.25 mi (5.23 km) west of Johnsondale, California. The grove is part of the southern section of Giant Sequoia National Monument and is administered by the U.S. Forest 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.
Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Common names include coast redwood, coastal redwood, and California redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 1,200–2,200 years or more. This species includes the tallest living trees on Earth, reaching up to 115.9 m (380.1 ft) in height and up to 8.9 m (29 ft) in diameter at breast height. These trees are also among the longest-living organisms on Earth. Before commercial logging and clearing began by the 1850s, this massive tree occurred naturally in an estimated 810,000 ha along much of coastal California and the southwestern corner of coastal Oregon within the United States.
The Lindsey Creek Tree was the largest single-stem organism (tree) known to have existed historically. It was a coast redwood, a member of the species Sequoia sempervirens. It grew in Fieldbrook, California, along the Lindsey Creek, which feeds into the Mad River. There are no known photographs of the tree.
Tree volume is one of many parameters that are measured to document the size of individual trees. Tree volume measurements serve a variety of purposes, some economic, some scientific, and some for sporting competitions. Measurements may include just the volume of the trunk, or the volume of the trunk and the branches depending on the detail needed and the sophistication of the measurement methodology.
The Pioneer Cabin Tree, also known as The Tunnel Tree, was a giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. It was considered one of the U.S.'s most famous trees, and drew thousands of visitors annually. It was estimated to have been more than 1,000 years old, and measured 33 feet (10 m) in diameter; its exact age and height were not known. The tree was topped before 1859. It fell and shattered during a storm on January 8, 2017.
36°34′6″N118°45′39″W / 36.56833°N 118.76083°W
 | This tree-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
