Biggest Tree in the World

The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is the biggest (by volume) tree in the world.

General Sherman is the name of a Giant Sequoia. It is one of the tallest Giant Sequoia trees in the world with a height of about 275 feet (83.8 metres). As of 2002, the volume of its trunk measured about 1487 cubic meters, making it the largest non-clonal organism by volume. The tree is located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in the United States, east of Visalia, California. The tree is believed to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old.

Computing the volume of a standing tree is the practical equivalent of calculating the volume of an irregular cone. For purposes of volume comparison, only the trunk of a giant sequoia is measured, including the restored volume of basal fire scars. Using these accepted standards and actual field measurements taken in 1975, the volume of the Sherman Tree was calculated to be slightly over 52.500 cubic feet (1486.6 meters).

It is difficult to appreciate the size of the giant sequoias because neighboring trees are so large. The largest of the sequoias are as tall as an average 26-story building, and their diameters at the base exceed the width of many city streets. As they continue to grow, they produce about 40 cubic feet of wood each year, approximately equal to the volume of a 50-foot-tall tree one foot in diameter.

The ages of the General Sherman, General Grant and other large sequoias are unknown, but it is estimated that these giants are between 1800 and 2700 years old. They have seen civilization come and go, survived countless fires and long periods of drought, and continue to flourish -- inspiring yet another generation of admirers.

Tallest Tree in the World
Hyperion, a Coast Redwood in California, at 115.5 m tall the tallest tree in the world, found in 2006. Hyperion is the name of a coast redwood tree in Northern California that has been confirmed to measure 115.55 m (379.1 feet), which ranks it as the world's tallest known living tree. Despite its great height, Hyperion is not the largest known coast redwood; that distinction belongs to the Lost Monarch tree.