Titans of the trees: Stunning photographs of 3,200-year-old giant sequoias as high as 20-story buildings on Sierra Nevada slopes

  • Mammoth trees only grow on western slopes of mountain range running through California and Nevada

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 17:14 EST, 19 November 2012 | UPDATED: 18:39 EST, 20 November 2012


These are some of the world's largest trees, rising majestically out of the snowy slopes along the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Photographer Michael Nichols spent two weeks capturing images of the 'President' - the world's second-biggest tree which is at least 3,200 years old in Sequoia National Park, deep in the southern region. 

Sequoias only grow on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range which runs 400 miles through Nevada and California. Giant sequoias can reach 247-feet - the height of a 20-storey building.

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Taking on the president: The world's second largest tree, a sequoia dubbed the president, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range

Taking on the president: The world's second largest tree, a sequoia dubbed the president, on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range

Tree of life: Sequoias are particular to the region and can grow as tall as 20-story buildings

Tree of life: Sequoias are particular to the region and can grow as tall as 20-story buildings

Taming a titan: Photographer Michael Nichols spent two weeks capturing breathtaking images of the majestic tree

Taming a titan: Photographer Michael Nichols spent two weeks capturing breathtaking images of the majestic tree

Writer David Quammen's article accompanies the photographer's series. The following is an excerpt from the December issue of National Geographic magazine: 'It’s not quite the largest tree on Earth. It’s the second largest.

Stunning: The December issue of National Geographic Magazine

Stunning: The December issue of National Geographic Magazine

'Recent research by scientist Steve Sillett of Humboldt State University and his colleagues has confirmed that the President ranks number two among all big trees that have ever been measured—and Sillett’s team has measured quite a few.

It doesn’t stand so tall as the tallest of coast redwoods or of Eucalyptus regnans in Australia, but height isn’t everything; it’s far more massive than any coast redwood or eucalypt. 

'Its dead spire, blasted by lightning, rises to 247 feet. Its four great limbs, each as big as a sizable tree, elbow outward from the trunk around halfway up, billowing into a thick crown like a mushroom cloud flattening against the sky.

'Although its trunk isn’t quite so bulky as that of the largest giant, the General Sherman, its crown is fuller than the Sherman’s. The President holds nearly two billion leaves.

'Trees grow tall and wide-crowned as a measure of competition with other trees, racing upward, reaching outward for sunlight and water.

And a tree doesn’t stop getting larger—as a terrestrial mammal does, or a bird, their size constrained by gravity—once it’s sexually mature. A tree too is constrained by gravity, but not in the same way as a condor or a giraffe.

'It doesn’t need to locomote, and it fortifies its structure by continually adding more wood.

Given the constant imperative of seeking resources from the sky and the soil, and with sufficient time, a tree can become huge and then keep growing. Giant sequoias are gigantic because they are very, very old.'








See below for additional images

Iconic: The President is one of the major tourist draws at the Giant Sequoia National Monument which covers much of the Sierra Nevada

Iconic: The President is one of the major tourist draws at the Giant Sequoia National Monument which covers much of the Sierra Nevada

Redwood
General Sherman

Immense: The tallest sequoias are so large that it is impossible to look at them in one go

Intrepid: A researcher climbs a sequoia as part of an effort to measure and map the giant trees

Intrepid: A researcher climbs a sequoia as part of an effort to measure and map the giant trees

Survivors: Many of the most impressive trees were destroyed soon after they were discovered by settlers in the 19th century

Survivors: Many of the most impressive trees were destroyed soon after they were discovered by settlers in the 19th century

Gorgeous: The majestic plants are considered one of the greatest natural wonders in the U.S.

Gorgeous: The majestic plants are considered one of the greatest natural wonders in the U.S.

The 'rusty red' tree has a footprint as large as a room in an average home, and is so huge that it is almost impossible to look at.

Their giant size allows them to survive disasters which would wipe out many of their woodland competitors - they are unaffected by storms, resistant to forest fire and can live even after being struck by lightning.

 

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And the trees never stop growing even when they are hundreds of feet tall - in fact, their rate of growth has been found to increase the older they are.

The trunk is constantly widening, while the upper limbs grow stronger even as the trees age.

Steve Sillett and his helpers proved this unexpected finding by climbing up the biggest trees and measuring them more thoroughly than had ever been done before.

VIDEO: Drive THROUGH a tree and explore the tallest sequoia on the planet!

Discovery: The trees were a source of huge fascination when they were found by settlers

Discovery: The trees were a source of huge fascination when they were found by settlers

Destruction: The early settlers were not afraid to cut down the giant trees for timber

Destruction: The early settlers were not afraid to cut down the giant trees for timber

Innovation: A settler in 1890 shows off the path he has cut through the giant sequoia Wawona

Innovation: A settler in 1890 shows off the path he has cut through the giant sequoia Wawona

KING OF THE SIERRA NEVADA: HOW THE GIANT SEQUOIA IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST PLANT

The giant sequoia - Sequoiadendron giganteum - tends to live for many centuries, enabling it to grow larger than any other species of plant.

The trees are naturally found only in a small area of the Sierra Nevada in California, nearly all of which is covered by the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

While they have been successfully grown in other areas of North America and around the world, nowhere have they been standing long enough to challenge the size records set by the Sierra Nevada giants.

They can live for up to 3,500 years, reaching heights comparable to skyscrapers.

The tallest trees currently standing include the President, the General Sherman and the General Grant, all above 240ft - but they are far from the tallest known in history.

Soon after the sequoia was discovered by American settlers in the early 19th century, many of the most impressive specimens were cut down and exhibited to gawking crowds.

One of the biggest of them all was known as the Mother of the Forest, which stood in the area from 668 BC and was discovered by George Gale in 1852.

He stripped the bark of the tree, leading to its swift demise, while a forest fire in 1908 destroyed what was left.

Champion: The General Sherman is the tallest tree in the world still standing, at a staggering 275ft

Champion: The General Sherman is the tallest tree in the world still standing, at a staggering 275ft



 
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No Trees - No People ! No Bees - No People ! No Fish - No People ! No People - Lots of trees ! No People - Lots of Bees ! No People - Lots of Fish !

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You know, just yesterday I was thinking...I don't believe in any god, etc. then I was cracking an egg to make an omlette for my daughter..and thought...WHY do we have chickens, who lay eggs, who give us chicken meat, etc....and asparagus and many other things. I'm still atheist..but t got me to thinking.....why? how?? we have so many plant based foods....we have these fishes? etc. and the almighty egg. who thought of cracking an egg and eating it? just saying. - Winnie , Holmdel New Jersey, United States, 20/11/2012 16:55***************************God bless you, you are taking your first steps into the Kingdom, and are as such a child who needs feeding milk. This is the beginning of wisdom. God has put this thought into your brain for you to contemplate, take your time and ingest the goodness of God's creation. Eggs are lovely creation, God bless.

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Trees are dying from the extremely polluted environment due to pesticides, genetically modified organisms, poor weak soil, toxic waste including chemtrails with aluminium coated nano particles, barium, strontium. general pollution, radioactivity from depleted uranium and nuclear power plants like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Global reduction in sunlight from chemtrails and loss of carbon dioxide also affect tree health.

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The saddest things about the cutting of the largest sequoias is that (1) people in Chicago and New York still thought the sections displayed at exhibitions were hoaxes, as they could not fathom a tree being so big, and (2) sequoias (especially the biggest ones) were so heavy that they would often shatter upon felling, and thus were of littel use for quality lumber. Countless giants were felled and then used for redwood shingles and grape stakes. They were not a high-profit tree, but like any tree, could not run away from human greed. You must visit Sequoia-King's Canyon National Park, it will sadden and inspire you.

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California has the biggest tree (General Sherman - Sequoia giganteum), the tallest tree (Hyperion, coast redwood in the No. Cal. coast range), and the oldest tree (Methuselah, bristlecone pine, White Mountains, >4,700 years old) all within a day's drive of one another (albeit a long drive)!

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I wish we could have forests and woodlands replanted here in the UK, Green Arrow if you think we should plant forests of these in the UK. Thnk how much more recreation we could have instead of inside on consoles all the time! The UK sued to be covered in trees.

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Sadly the world's trees are dying by the millions and millions.Trees of every type are mysteriously becoming very susceptible to all types of disease.People shouldn't have to be dependent on news reports to be aware of the problem.Start looking closely at the trees in your neighborhood, no matter where you live, and you will soon notice that they are not as healthy and as vigorous as they once were.Go online if you are curious and you will find just about every country has a tree problem.I can even spot unhealthy trees in the background of movies and documentaries that have nothing to do with trees.Why is this? Are humans involved and if so what are we doing that has created this astonishing problem? We had better figure it out soon before we don't have any trees left.We will only have beautiful pictures such as these to look at while we wonder what happened.I look at mountains that were once covered with pine,spruce and aspen and now there are huge areas of dead and dying trees.

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hey Robert from Atlanta.... are you as sick as me with hearing about how Romney lost and Obama won?? Geez guy, get over yourself and the fact that the guy you thought best lost. You know not all media is for the left. *cough cough* Fox News.

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It certainly puts things into perspective, We are all irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Such insignificant ants in natures giant and far reaching landscape. Breathtaking!

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There's a lovely little spot on a hillside overlooking Poole Harbour, Dorset - just right for one of these beauties ;o)

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