The Giants

 

The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.  

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

Biking through Sequoia National Forest, California

My husband biking through the Seqoiadendron giganteum range

Western slope of Sierra Nevada, central California.

 

 

The Sequoias

Sequoia are the largest trees in the world, but not the tallest   Sequoia characteristics, General Grant Grove, Sequoia National Forest, CA   Blue-green Sequoia leaves   Sequoia grow to heights of 150 to 250 feet and 20 ft. diameter
             
The Giant Sequoia reaches full height in its first 800 years, then continues to add bulk rather than height.   Late afternoon shadows and blue sky beautify the already impressive Sequoia forest   Mossy Sequoia, Mariposa Grove, Sequoia National Forest, CA   Mossy Sequoia, Mariposa Grove, Sequoia National Forest, CA
             
Sequoia trunk and scale-leaves   Mariposa Grove, Sequoia National Forest, CA   Sequoia Toe!   Sequoia roots extend outward 200 to 250 feet and are comparitively shallow, only six to eight feet deep.

 

 

Woodpecker on a giant Sequoia, Mariposa Grove, Ca

Woodpecker on a giant Sequoia, Mariposa Grove, Ca

 

 

The California Redwoods

Giant Redwood, John Muir National Forest, California   Redwood branches and leaves   Fire triggers new growth   Redwood bark detail
             
Looking up, John Muir National Forest, California   Fire destroys the inner layers of Redwood and the outer bark, more resistant to fire, continues to grow   Looking up, John Muir National Forest, California   Trunk detail, Redwood
             
Along with Incense Cedar and American Elm, the Big Leaf Maple is one of the few species of trees that can grow in the darkness of the Redwoods here in John Muir National Forest   Vertigo   Redwood roots   Initials carved into a decaying Redwood log
             
Redwood, General Grant Cove, Kings Canyon National Park, Ca   Redwood, General Grant Cove, Kings Canyon National Park, Ca   Redwood branches, Kings Canyon National Park, Ca   Redwood, General Grant Cove, Kings Canyon National Park, Ca

 

 
Stump of the Mark Twain Tree,1891

Stump of the Mark Twain Tree, 1891 Yosemite National Park, CA, sign at Mariposa Grove

 

 

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