Redwood forests in California: the giant trees paradise

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Maybe you know it, but maybe you don’t. That’s why today we’re going to tell you about giants, but you can rest assured that they won’t come running out after you. These are the giant sequoias of California that abound in the redwood forests, it makes sense!

What are giant redwood forests?

Let’s take it step by step, redwood forests they are forests on the one hand, and of redwood on the other. We haven’t told you anything new, we know that. The most exciting part comes now and that is that they are not normal redwoods, nothing like that. They are a kind of redwood that is giant.

How giant? They reach an average height of between 50 and 85 meters, and 5 to 7 meters in diameter. But the most incredible thing is that it is known that there have been trees that have reached 94 meters in height and exceeded 11 in diameter.

As if that weren’t enough, these giant trees can live up to 4.000 years. They are not immortal, but they have little left. Even fires do not kill them, on the contrary, it is good for them because they gain space around them. The only way to kill them we will not tell you because it is not necessary to know it.

Where to see giant redwoods

The giant redwood forests extend over an area 750 kilometers in length down the west coast, from Oregon to California, in mountains of not too high altitude.

The giant redwoods forests extend over an area 750 kilometers in length, from Oregon to California, in mountains of not too high altitude.

Redwood National Park

It is located just 12 kilometers north of the Californian city of San Francisco. The park is 1.500 years old and its redwoods that have been growing throughout are gigantic. Here comes the drumbeat because Giant Redwood Forest is home to Hyperion, the tallest redwood that mesures 115 meters.

Yosemite

At Yosemite, one of the best National Parks in the United States, you can enjoy incredible views of the park from the Tunnel View overlook. You will have the opportunity to see the Bridalveil Falls, a waterfall with a drop of 188 meters. But that’s not all because there is also the Half Dome, which rises 1440 meters above the base level of the valley.

You may have noticed that this is all about heights, and that’s why we introduce you to the long-awaited Tuolumne Grove, the giant redwood forest. After discovering the giant redwoods in Yosemite you may get the feeling that you’ve become small, but don’t worry, it’s all the same.

Sequoia National Park

This park is not in San Francisco, but in Los Angeles, in the southern part of Sierra Nevada. It is home to the redwood known as General Sherman, the tree with the largest net volume due to its 11-meter diameter. For a long time this tree was believed to be about 3.500 years old, but recent studies determined the accurate age of 2.000 years, it’s a baby!

You surely wish to be a squirrel to jump between the tall redwoods, for the moment you will have to settle for being human and see them from below, which is still impressive. In the redwood forests you will realize how powerful nature is, of its immensity and, at the same time, you will discover the smallness of the human being.

The most incredible thing is that we being so small can destroy something so big with fires or disrespectful practices with the environment without taking into account the benefits of sustainable tourism, don’t you think?