World’s Biggest and Tallest Tree

The giant General Sherman sequoia holds the title of world’s biggest tree. It resides in Sequoia National Park, with a paved road to its doorstep. The tree is  274.9 feet tall, weighs 2.7 million pounds, and measures 52,508 cubic feet. The General Sherman is the biggest tree in volume, but not the tallest known tree in the world.

The world’s tallest tree is the Mendocino. It is a coastal redwood near Ukiah, California. It is 367-foot 6 inches tall, or five stories higher than the Statue of Liberty. There are no signs or arrows pointing to the Mendocino tree. It is kept a secret to protect the tree. Why? Because the previous tallest tree record holder the ”Tall Tree” at 367 feet 10 inches tall, was inadvertently damaged over the years by tourists. The ground around the base of the redwood became hard-packed. from 1963 to 1970 the top ten feet of the tree died. By 1990, the ten feet of it’s top fell off. This is why there are fences around the trees today.

Now here is a sad fact: A century ago, California’s biggest redwoods usually were measured and admired only after they were cut down. Only 5 percent of the original redwood forest remains today, mostly in public parks and reserves.

source :http://prettysleepy.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/worlds-biggest-and-tallest-tree/