Imagine a tree this wide!
Aug. 9 - My sister Barbara led Ann and me to a beautiful grove of Giant Sequoia trees on our recent vacation in California. These magnificent redwood trees are the largest living species on the planet. They can reach the height of a 25-story building and a girth of 8 meters. Today the Giant Sequoias can be found in only 68 groves on the western slopes of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Ann and I enjoyed walking along a level nature path as we admired these magnificent natural wonders. So impressive are these stately giants that when early California explorers first wrote about these trees, few believed their "tall tales."
My sister Barbara and Ann looking up at the towering canopy
As we walked through the quiet grove, we learned about the important role that fire plays in the Sequoia's life cycle. Young Sequoia growing in a mature forest are unlikely to survive because older, taller trees block the sunlight. Small-scale forest fires, however, clear away this competition. At the same time, these fires also cause the pinecones of the Sequoias to open and release their seeds into the ground.
You can see Barbara and Ann back there behind the fallen giant.
We walked through an area that had been completely burned by a forest fire in 1905. It is now a beautiful grove of young Sequoia trees that have already reached about 100 feet in height. Ann and I were awed to realize that a 105-year-old tree is considered young!
Until next time,
Jim
Does the tree still included one of the 7 wonders of the world?
I do not know, but that day the trees filled me with wonder at nature's grandeur.
