Trees; tallest, biggest, oldest
New tallest tree: photo by Art Oglesby
New record tallest tree
Not one, but three giant redwood trees have been found in Redwood National Forest that are taller than former "tallest tree in the world". An expansion of the Redwood National Park's boundary just 30 years ago saved these trees from being harvested.
The tallest of the three new finds, a redwood named Hyperion, measures 378.1 feet.(edit:379.1 feet) Next in line, Helios, stands at 376.3 feet; Icarus, the third, reaches 371.2 feet. San Francisco Chronicle
Stratosphere Giant, found in August 2000 in nearby Humboldt Redwoods State Park, was the previous champion at 370 feet.
The largest tree is a sequoia
Genral Sherman is the largest tree in the world. It, too, is in California in Giants Forest in Sequoia National Park.
In January of 2006 the largest branch on the tree, seen most commonly in older photos as an "L" or "golf club" shape protruding from about 1/4th down the trunk, broke off. No one was present for the incident, but the branch, which had a diameter of over 2 m (6 feet) and a length of over 30 m (100 feet), bigger than most trees, smashed part of the enclosing fence and cratered the walkway pavement surrounding the sequoia.
The oldest tree is a bristlecone pine
Methuselah is the name of the world's oldest living tree. It is located in the Inyo National Forest in California. Methuselah is over 4750 years old. An older living tree known as the martyr tree was tragically cut down by a researcher before laws protecting trees existed.
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That is some tree! How did you measure , and find it? I'm an arborist in British Columbia and I'd like to visit this tree. It sure doesn't appear to have much taper and the trunk looks to have some major decay.
The quote below is from the "edit: 379.1 feet" link above.
By climbing and actually dropping a line for measurement gave a different result than the previous guestimate via sighting and trigonometry.
The photo is one I took last summer of a random tall tree. When I tried to get a photo of the oldest tree I was again informed that its location and identity were not being revealed.
I' ve been facinated with trees for several years now and all i have learned is from pure curiosity and personal casual encuonters with several admerable species. The reson for me writting these word is to see if it posible for someone to spill knowledge of the real depths a tree reaches as an organism. I really feel compelled to having such knowledge. So i thought to my self, why not ask here. looking foward to this... If it's to much, simply resume what your years of observation have given you.
Our science teacher told us to search for the names of the tallest and oldest tree in the world and actually i saw the pic of it at the wikipedia.com and i cant believe it.. i wish i could see it in rl...
It's amazing how well the trunks of the tallest or giants can blend in. You almost have to be within a few hundred feet or much less to know for sure.
There may only be one image of Hyperion on the internet.
For the "largest" Lost Monarch, I think only 3 small images of part of the trunk were online, and it was a hard search to even find those.
I am a regular hiker and forest explorer, and have loctated the Grove of Titans. Some nice size images have been provided here:
Grove of Titans redwoods & photos
All are cropped just enough to show the trees without clues for locating.
Someday, I'd like to see Atlas Grove and Illuvatar, but am not sure about the bushwhack needed to see Hyperion.
Thank you so much for commenting. I appreciate your providing the link to your website. I encourage readers to click on the above link (in red) where you will find amazing photos and links to videos of these giant trees.
well all i have to say is it is COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Howdy.
Thanks to ARTiFactor... and nice pic - you look like a very happy person !!
Update...
Few weeks after I posted up above in last reply, I did find Atlas Grove in north California. So I added an image of Illuvatar to my page, and also in my redwood albums. Same page as listed above ...
California Redwood Trees: Atlas Grove / Grove of Titans
Hyperion has not been on my list to research and look for. I'm moving north to Beaverton, OR, in 7 days. But on my planned once-per-year visit to hike the redwoods, I may spend 2 days looking for Hyperion if the location if still undisclosed. If it gets published - certainly less time required to view it.
The way to make the search fun, even if a secret tree is not found, is to enjoy the rest of the forest at the same time, so that it's enjoyable no matter what.
Best,
M. D. Vaden of Oregon
TREES ARE THE PLANETS TRUE TREASURE, OUR LUNGS AND THE BEAUTY OF OUR SIGHT.
THEY CANNOT BE OWNED, THEY SHOULD NOT BE KILLED. iT IS PART OF THE WHOLE, THEY SHOULD BE PRESERVED.
GOVERNMENTS HAVE THE MONEY, THE POWER, THE WAYS, TO SAVE THIS TREASURES.
ONE SIMPLE DECISION COULD SAVE THOUSANDS, EVEN MILLIONS OF THESE TREES.
TIME SEEMS ENDLESS TO TREES, BUT HUMANS CRAVING MONEY, ARE THEIR WORST ENEMIES....AND IN MINUTES THEY COULD DESTROY WHAT TOOK THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO GROW...
A GOOD ECONOMY, IS THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR PLANET, WE ARE EATING IT, DESTROYING IT, KILLING OUR OWN HABITAT AND HOME.
MAYBE ONE SIMPLE LAW COULD CHANGE DESTINY: DO NOT CUT ANY TREE ABOVE 5 FT IN DIAMETER ANYWHERE.
GET RICH! SAVE THE PLANET! STOP BUYING!
BY DAPACU
February 2009 comment update ...
Since my last replies, I did manage to find Hyperion - the tallest known redwood.
Just as interesting as the tree, was the fact that the signs of bear activity exceeded any othe redwood park or trail spot I had visited prior.
Tons of moss on the trees.
Vaden found hyperion, and disclosed it's location. If he gave the real coordinates, shame on him. If he gave false coordinates, good for him, but why bother?
If the PhD who is the leading expert on the trees deems it necessary to keep the tree location secret, shouldn't that be a good enough reason? Hey Vaden- how about pulling down those coordinates?
Anonymous is a funny person.
Without seeing these trees, you can only guess whether any researchers have been pulling your leg.
There is a large amount of misinformation about these tree's locations out there.
Even the climbing history is over a decade off the mark.
Preston, in The Wild Trees, wrote that Sillett - your theoretical leading expert - was virtually the first to reach old growth redwood canopy by climbing. But Beranek of California reached the top of old growth in the mid-1970s, and several other by the 1980s.
It's documented photographically.
I discovered that information about the largest and tallest coast redwoods pertaining to their locations has been incorrectly fed to the public through books, videos and articles.
So most people can only speculate and are in no position to form a solid hypothesis about these trees, their locations or what's happening with them.
I placed my Certified Arborist status on my own page, as a professional stamp that whatever is on that one page is totally factual. My webpage will carry the same weight as a professional arborist report.
Outside that page, any images of undisclosed trees merely have proximity GPS - not exact.
Thanks for the update. I enjoyed your first person account of finding Hyperion. I really appreciate your photos and information (click on "M. D. Vaden of Oregon" above in red to go to his web page).
Its surprising that Hyperion is still only half the amount of wood that is in Lost Monarch or Del Norte titan, a couple of giants in the Grove of Titans. There are at least 3 giant redwoods in the Grove of Titans much bigger than Hyperion, although they are like 70 feet shorter. Sort of like the difference between marathon runners and football players.
I found Michael Taylor's website.It has some images of Hyperion.Go to Landmark trees.com and click on latest tree news,summer 2010.
The largest tree had a branch that was 2m in diameter! The biggest trees I have seen do not even have trunks that are 2m in diameter. That must have been one massive tree. Luckily the laws were put in place to protect such trees, or else we would have never gotten a chance to see these wonderful trees.
Although the record is not about the tallest Christmas Tree it is something new to discover that there are three trees that have made it to the towering height.
Alex Meldrum
That is amazing, I love nature and I am glad that these are a part of it. :)
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