Sequoia: Standing Among the Largest Living Things on Earth
The General Sherman Tree is 275 feet tall, 102 feet in circumference at its base, and approximately 2,200 years old. It is the largest living thing on Earth by volume - not the tallest tree, not the widest, not the oldest, but containing more wood than any other single organism. Standing beneath it, looking up, the scale fails to register as real. The human brain has no reference point for a living thing this size. Sequoia National Park protects the groves where giant sequoias grow naturally - nowhere else in the world, only the western slope of California's Sierra Nevada, only between 5,000 and 8,000 feet, only where conditions align in ways that exist nowhere else.
The Species
Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are distinct from coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), though both are often called simply 'redwoods.' Coast redwoods grow taller; giant sequoias grow more massive. The bark on a giant sequoia can reach three feet thick, protecting the tree from the fires that kill competitors. The cones are surprisingly small - about the size of a chicken egg - and require fire to open and release seeds. The wood is brittle and not commercially valuable; early logging proved the trees too large to handle and the timber too prone to shattering. The species survived logging that would have eliminated it elsewhere, protected by its own uselessness.
The Groves
Giant sequoias grow naturally in approximately 75 groves scattered along 260 miles of the Sierra Nevada. The Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park contains five of the ten largest trees on Earth. Mariposa Grove in Yosemite and Calaveras Big Trees State Park protect other famous groves. The trees require specific conditions: well-drained soil, adequate moisture, and the fire regime that clears competing vegetation and opens cones. Planted sequoias grow worldwide - the species adapts readily - but natural reproduction occurs only in the Sierra groves where millions of years of evolution created the perfect niche.
The Fire
Sequoias evolved with fire. Low-intensity burns every few decades cleared underbrush, exposed mineral soil for seedling germination, and eliminated competing trees. A century of fire suppression changed the equation: underbrush accumulated, ladder fuels enabled flames to reach crowns, and fires that once cleaned now killed. The 2020 Castle Fire burned through several groves, killing thousands of giant sequoias - more in one season than had died in recorded history. The 2021 KNP Complex Fire threatened the Giant Forest itself; firefighters wrapped General Sherman in fireproof blankets. The trees that survived millennia of fire now face fires unlike any in their evolutionary history.
The Experience
Standing among giant sequoias induces a particular humility. The trees are simply too large to process; photography cannot capture scale, and description cannot convey presence. The Congress Trail loops through the Giant Forest, passing General Sherman and other giants. Moro Rock provides a view over the park, the trail climbing granite slabs. Crystal Cave offers underground contrast to the forest above. The General Highway connects Sequoia to Kings Canyon National Park, passing Grant Grove with the General Grant Tree - designated the Nation's Christmas Tree and a living shrine to Americans killed in war.
Visiting Sequoia
Sequoia National Park is located in the southern Sierra Nevada, accessible from Fresno (55 miles) or Visalia (36 miles). The park entrance is at 6,400 feet; the Generals Highway is winding and not suitable for large RVs. General Sherman is reached via a paved trail from the parking area or a longer walk from Lodgepole. The Congress Trail provides the best loop through the Giant Forest. Giant Forest Museum interprets sequoia ecology and history. Accommodation is limited within the park; Lodgepole and Wuksachi provide options. Summer crowds are intense; spring and fall offer better conditions. Winter brings snow that closes upper elevations. The experience defies description - the trees are too large, too old, too far outside human experience. Standing among them is its own justification.
From the Air
Located at 36.49°N, 118.57°W in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. From altitude, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks appear as the western slope of the Sierra, from foothills through sequoia groves to High Sierra granite. The giant sequoia groves are not individually visible from altitude, but the Giant Forest occupies the plateau at 6,500-7,500 feet visible as a forested bench below the higher peaks. The Generals Highway traces switchbacks up the canyon. The Great Western Divide rises to the east. The contrast between foothills chaparral and montane forest is visible as color change with elevation. What appears from altitude as typical Sierra forest contains the largest living things on Earth - organisms so massive that individual trees have been named, mapped, and monitored for over a century.