General Sherman (tree) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids General Sherman |
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The General Sherman, the largest single stem tree in the world, is located in California's Sequoia National Park]]
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 General Sherman
Location in California
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| Species | Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) |
| Coordinates | 36°34′54″N 118°45′05.5″W / 36.58167°N 118.751528°W |
| Height | 83.8 m (275 ft) |
| Diameter | 11 m (36 ft) |
| Volume of trunk | 1,487 m3 (52,500 cu ft) |
| Date seeded | 700 BC – 300 BC |
The General Sherman is a giant sequoia tree found in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in California. It is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth when measured by its volume. This amazing tree is thought to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old.
Even though the General Sherman is the biggest tree alive today, it's not the largest tree ever recorded. For example, the Crannell Creek Giant, a coast redwood tree, was much larger. It was cut down in the 1940s. Another huge coast redwood, the Lindsey Creek tree, was reported to have fallen in a storm in 1905.
History of the General Sherman Tree
The General Sherman tree was named after William Tecumseh Sherman, a famous general from the American Civil War. The story goes that a naturalist named James Wolverton, who served under General Sherman, named the tree in 1879.
Later, in 1886, the land where the tree stands was controlled by the Kaweah Colony. This was a group of people who lived together and shared everything. They made money by cutting down trees. Because General Sherman had played a role in conflicts with Native American tribes, the colony decided to rename the tree after Karl Marx, a famous thinker. However, the colony broke up in 1892 when Sequoia National Park was created. The tree then went back to its original name.
In 1931, after comparing it to the nearby General Grant tree, the General Sherman was officially recognized as the largest tree in the world. From then on, people started using the amount of wood in a tree's trunk (its volume) as the main way to compare tree sizes.
In January 2006, the biggest branch on the tree broke off. This branch was huge, even bigger than most tree trunks! It was over 2 m (6.6 ft) wide and over 30 m (98 ft) long. It broke part of the fence and made a hole in the walkway around the tree. Experts believe this was a natural event and doesn't mean the tree is unhealthy. It might even be a way for the tree to protect itself from bad weather.
Amazing Facts About Its Size
While the General Sherman is the largest tree by volume, it's not the tallest tree on Earth. That record belongs to the Hyperion tree, which is a Coast redwood. It's also not the widest tree, as some cypress and baobab trees have wider trunks. And it's not the oldest tree either; some Great Basin bristlecone pines are much older.
However, with a height of 83.8 meters (275 ft), a diameter of 7.7 m (25 ft), an estimated trunk volume of 1,487 m3 (52,513 cu ft), and an age of 2,300–2,700 years, the General Sherman tree is still one of the tallest, widest, and longest-living trees on our planet!
Here are some more measurements of this incredible tree:
| Height above base | 274.9 ft | 83.8 m |
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| Circumference at ground | 102.6 ft | 31.3 m |
| Maximum diameter at base | 36.5 ft | 11.1 m |
| Diameter 4.50 ft (1.37 m) above height point on ground | 25.1 ft | 7.7 m |
| Girth Diameter 60 ft (18 m) above base | 17.5 ft | 5.3 m |
| Diameter 180 ft (55 m) above base | 14.0 ft | 4.3 m |
| Diameter of largest branch | 6.8 ft | 2.1 m |
| Height of first large branch above the base | 130.0 ft | 39.6 m |
| Average crown spread | 106.5 ft | 32.5 m |
| Estimated bole volume | 52,508 cu ft | 1,487 m3 |
| Estimated mass (wet) (1938) | 2,105 short tons | 1,910 t |
| Estimated bole mass (1938) | 2,472,000 lb | 1,121 t |
See also
In Spanish: General Sherman (árbol) para niños
