In short
Until 2021 the tallest known Sitka spruce in the world was Raven Spruce which is 96.7 m (96.68 m) tall.
40.3%
GPS coordinates
Location, address
Species
Height
Diameter
Map of the site
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
In detail
The exact location of this enormous tree is not disclosed but it is known that the tree is located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. This park was established in the 1920s in order to protect redwood forests with extremely tall and large trees whose growth has been facilitated by very frequent fogs.
Raven’s Tower was discovered and measured by Ron Hildebrandt and Michael Taylor in 2001, measured also by Steve Sillett in 2007.
Tree has a lively top, seems to be growing, and by now might be taller.
Bark of Sitka spruce is friendly to epiphytes and in the moist, foggy climate the trees get covered with diverse moss, lichens, and ferns. Branches of trees get thick cover and even soil developing on them – and as a result high above the ground, at the height of 50 m spruce develops a new network of roots on its own branches! This should be of great assistance to achieving a greater height of the tree because exactly the extreme lift of nutrients from the roots is limiting the height of the trees.
It was the tallest tree in its species until the discovery by Michael Taylor and Tressa Gibbard in early 2021 when a fantastic, 100.2 m tall Sitka spruce was discovered. Several taller Sitka spruces were discovered as well.
References
- Landmarktrees, Tallest Sitka Spruce, accessed on December 24, 2010. Now website is not online anymore
- Humboldt State University, Institute for Redwood Ecology, Photo Tour: Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis, accessed on December 24, 2010. Images!
- M. W.Taylor, New 370′ class redwood to report, CA eNTS: The Magazine of the Native Tree Society – Volume 1, Number 7, July 2011, page 87. Accessed on 26 December 2016.
Linked articles
Wonders of California
Although California is one of the 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.
Wonders of the United States
The United States of America is one of the largest countries in the world and offers a wide array of diverse attractions: many are unsurpassed in the world. Highlights of the United States are cliffs, canyons, and rock formations, several impressive downtowns of cities with numerous skyscrapers as well as a rich array of geothermal features, and the giant forest of California.
Trees
The category includes some of the most impressive and interesting separate trees in the world. The total number of tree species in the world still is a wild guess – maybe 10,000 and maybe 100,000 but most likely somewhere in between. Every month there are reported new tree species from the whole world, including Western Europe.
Recommended books
Shades of Green: An Environmental and Cultural History of Sitka Spruce
This book takes a fresh look at the most disliked tree in Britain and Ireland, explaining the reasons it was introduced and why it became ubiquitous in the archipelagos of northwest Europe.
Experience the California Coast
The shoreline between California’s Golden Gate and the Oregon border offers an endless variety of coastal attractions: soft white sand and coarse pebble beaches, a forest of Sitka spruce and fields of California poppies, redwood glades and crashing surf, lighthouses, and whales.
