A big coast redwood by any other name …
The extraordinary redwoods of the world go by many names, some of which are pretty impressive: Mother of the Forest, Hyperion, General Sherman, Atlas, the list goes on. At some point, though, you’ve just got to call it what it is. And thus, the Giant Tree in the Rockefeller Loop of Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It is not the biggest or the tallest, but it might be the most coast redwood-ish. And that’s probably why it got its designation from the American Forestry Association as the National Champion Coast Redwood in 1991. It just stands as a beautiful example of a coast redwood among many other beautiful examples. Not sure how old it is – let’s just say many centuries. Really, this tree is just a finger in the eye of all things that are bad in the world, a constant reminder that nature produces great beauty and majesty. When such things exist it’s hard to imagine defeat.
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3 Responses to “Defiant Redwood of the Week: Giant Tree”
Barbara Klingsporn
Decades ago, after my first visit to California and a walk through Muir Woods, I was so deeply impressed by the redwoods that afterward in New York, one look at the Museum of Natural History’s diorama of a redwood trunk, brought back the smell of the redwoods. Astounding experience! It was as if the museum were pumping redwood perfume into the hall.
Kent Iverson
I love these articles about exceptional redwood and sequoia specimens.
Your members might find it interesting to know about some of the exceptional specimens in more urban areas like The Brothers in Mt. Madonna SP, Methuselah near Corte Madera Open Space, Grandmother Tree in Jack London SP, Colonel Armstrong in Armstrong Woods SP, etc.
Pamela Hazen
The magnificent redwoods take my breath away, while literally providing me with oxygen to breathe.