Nooksack Giant facts for kids
The Nooksack Giant was an incredibly huge Douglas-fir tree. It grew in a place called Maple Falls in Washington State, USA. This amazing tree was cut down in the 1890s. People who saw it said it was one of the biggest and most beautiful trees ever.
A Truly Giant Tree
This giant tree stood tall at Loop's Ranch, which is now known as Alpenglow Farm, near Maple Falls. It was cut down in the 1890s. After it was felled, people measured it carefully with a tape. The Nooksack Giant was an incredible 465 feet (142 m) tall! That's taller than many skyscrapers today. Its trunk was also huge, measuring 34 feet (10 m) around. Imagine trying to hug a tree that wide!
What Happened to the Giant?
When the Nooksack Giant was cut down, it produced a massive amount of wood. It gave more than 96,000 board feet of lumber. To give you an idea, that's enough wood to build many houses!
A Sad Loss
Many people felt very sad when this magnificent tree was cut down. The New York Times newspaper, in an article on March 7, 1897, called it "the most magnificent fir tree ever beheld by human eyes." They even said that cutting it down was a "truly pitiable tale" and a "crime." This shows how special and important the tree was to people.
Another newspaper, The Morning Times, wrote on February 28, 1897, that if you cut the wood from this one tree into one-inch strips, it would reach all the way from Whatcom County (where the tree grew) to China! This gives you an idea of just how much wood came from this single, enormous tree. The Nooksack Giant was truly a wonder of nature.
