The Largest Living Things on Earth

Sequoia National Park is home to the world’s biggest trees. They’re not as tall as the redwood pines in northern California, but what they lack in height, they certainly make up in girth.

The General Sherman Tree (see photo) is estimated to weigh 2.7 million pounds (1,225 metric tons), and is believed to be about 2,100 years old. It’s 275 feet (83.8 m) tall, and its circumference at ground level is more than 102 feet (31 m). And it’s still growing!

Not surprisingly, the huge size of the sequoias attracted loggers, who began to cut down these magnificent giants in the nineteenth century. One third of these ancient trees were cut down, but for little real gain. The trees are so big, and the wood is so brittle that it breaks across the grain when a tree is felled. As a result, they ended up being used to make pencils and as stakes for the vines in some California vineyards.