July 13, 2024 - California
General Sherman Tree
Leaving Big Stump Grove, we drove down the long and winding road of Generals Highway into Sequoia National Park and into the parking area for the General Sherman Tree.  There is a -- well-marked, as you can see -- a trail from the parking area to the General Sherman Tree.  It was quite evident that this was the highlight attraction of Sequoia National Park.  Lots of people were on hand.
   
The General Sherman Tree is the first thing you come to when coming in from the north.
   
The trail.
   
And there it is!  The General Sherman Tree, largest (by volume) tree in the world.
 
There was a long line to take your picture with the sign, so this picture is of some random family.
   

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.

The General Sherman tree was named after the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, of course.  I kid you not, it was briefly named the Karl Marx tree by a utopian, socialist community who owned the land from 1886 to 1892.
   
 
   
Selfie in front of the General Sherman.
   
While it is the largest tree known, the General Sherman Tree is neither the tallest known living tree on Earth (that distinction belongs to Hyperion, a Coast redwood), nor is it the widest (both the largest cypress and largest baobab have a greater diameter), nor is it the oldest known living tree on Earth (that distinction belongs to a Great Basin bristlecone pine).
 
With a height of 275 ft, a diameter of 25 ft, an estimated bole volume of 52,513 cu ft, and an estimated age of 2,300–2,700 years, it is nevertheless among the tallest, widest, and longest-lived of all trees on the planet.
   
While General Sherman is the largest currently living tree, it is not the largest historically recorded tree. The Lindsey Creek tree, with more than 90,000 cubic feet almost twice the volume of General Sherman, was reported felled by a storm in 1905. And there were others.
   
 
   
That's a big tree.
   

Sequoia trees remain thick far up the tree.  Amazlingly thick.

The General Sherman tree is a must-see if you are in Sequoia National Park.
   
 
   
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