The world's largest tree, measured by volume. It stands 275 feet (83 m) tall, and is over 36 feet (11 m) in diameter at the base
Overview
The General Sherman Tree is the world's largest tree, measured by volume. It stands 275 feet (83 m) tall, and is over 36 feet (11 m) in diameter at the base. Sequoia trunks remain wide high up. Sixty feet above the base, the Sherman Tree is 17.5 feet (5.3 m) in diameter.Visiting the General Sherman Tree
Two trails lead to the Sherman Tree. Parking for the Main Trail is off the Wolverton Road (between the Sherman Tree and Lodgepole); just follow signs. The trail runs half a mile (0.8 km) down to the tree. It has a few stairs and is paved. As you walk, you'll enter the Giant Forest sequoia grove. Exhibits along the trail explain the natural history of giant sequoias. The walk back is uphill.
While the General Sherman is the largest currently living tree, it is not the largest historically recorded tree. The Crannell Creek Giant, a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) cut down in the mid-1940s near Trinidad, California, is estimated to have been 15-25% larger than the General Sherman tree by volume. Another larger coast redwood, the Lindsey Creek tree with more than 90,000 cubic feet, was reported felled by a storm in 1905.
History
The General Sherman was named after the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman. The official story claims the tree was named in 1879 by naturalist James Wolverton, who had served as a lieutenant in the 9th Indiana Cavalry under Sherman.
In 1931, following comparisons with the nearby General Grant tree, General Sherman was identified as the largest tree in the world. One result of this process was that wood volume became widely accepted as the standard for establishing and comparing the size of different trees.
Dimensions
Height above base: 274.9 ft
Circumference at ground: 102.6 ft
Maximum diameter at base: 36.5 ft
Diameter 4.50 ft (1.37 m) above height point on ground: 25.1 ft
Girth Diameter 60 ft (18 m) above base: 17.5 ft
Diameter 180 ft (55 m) above base: 14.0 ft
Diameter of largest branch: 6.8 ft
Height of first large branch above the base: 130.0 ft
Average crown spread: 106.5 ft
Estimated bole volume: 52,508 cu ft
Estimated mass (wet) (1938): 2,105 short tons 1,910 t
Estimated bole mass (1938): 2,472,000 lb 1,121 t
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "General Sherman (tree)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
This article uses material from nps.gov "Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks"
