Giant sequoias
Giant sequoias are unique trees – they are the largest single-stem trees in the world and some of the oldest living beings in the world with proven age of 3,500 years. These trees grow in small area – on the western slopes of Sierra Nevada mountains in California.
In order to propagate these trees need regular wildfire, thus in 1970 in this area started controlled burns.
King of Converse Basin grove
History
Boole tree by far is the largest tree in Converse Basin grove of giant sequoias. Earlier this forest was magnificent, with thousands of magnificent sequoias in it, but in 1892 – 1918 here were cut most of the giant trees and now some 60 – 100 large trees remain.
Tree got its name sometimes around 1895, when Fresno doctor A.H.Sweeny honoured the feat of the supervisor of logging operations Franklin A. Boole – this man saved the tree from felling due to its giant size.
Until 1931 this tree frequently was named as the largest tree in the world, just like another giant – General Grant Tree. Now General Grant Tree is the second largest and Boole Tree – sixth largest sequoia.
Dimensions
Boole Tree by all accounts is one of the largest trees in the world. Especially impressive is its girth at the ground level – 34.4 m. Further up it becomes thinner and at the height of 1.37 m the girth is 24.3 m (1). There are sequoias with larger circumference, e.g. General Grant Tree.
The height also is beyond impressive – 81.9 m and calculated volume of its trunk is 1,203 m³.
It is amazing that the trunk of this tree and its dead branches are seen even on the satellite images on Google Earth.
Not too far from this tree grows the tallest known giant sequoia – the Tallest Giant Sequoia in Converse Basin, 95.8 m tall.
References
- Giant sequoia in the Giant Sequoia National Monument, Monumental trees, accessed on July 19, 2014
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| Coordinates: | 36.8243 N 118.9488 W |
| Categories: | Trees |
| Values: | Biology |
| Rank: | 4 |
| Address: | North America, United States, California, Fresno County, Sequoia National Forest, near the Converse Basin grove, on the edge of Kings Canyon |
| Species: | Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) J.Buchh.) |
| Height: | 81.9 m |
| Circumference: | 24.3 m |
| Diameter: | 7.7 m |
| Volume: | 1,203 m³ |
Wonders of California
Although California is one of states in the United States of America, Americans often compare it to a separate country, e.g. “if California would be a country, it would have the eighth largest economy in the world”. We can go on with this comparison – California has more landmarks and attractions than many large countries of the world.
Trees
Category includes some of the most impressive and interesting separate trees of the the world. Total number of tree species in the world still is a wild guess – may be 10,000 and may be 100,000 but most likely somewhere in between. Every month there are reported new tree species from the whole world, including the Western Europe.
Recommended books
Portrays the anatomy and growth of the redwood, describes the plants and animals that share its habitat, and looks at the history of redwood logging.
Coast Redwood: A Natural and Cultural History
Coast Redwood is the first contemporary illustrated book to focus exclusively on the natural and cultural history of the world’s tallest tree. This handsome volume, updated and revised in 2011, contains 230 color images and 100 black and white historic photos and describes the origins, distribution, life history, ecology, and wildlife associated with coast redwood.
