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The Washington Tree is a
In September 2003, a fire caused by a
giant sequoia
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...
in the Giant Forest Grove in Tulare County, California
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great La ...
, within Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and toda ...
. It is named after Founding Father
The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
, the first President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. Until it partially collapsed in January 2005, the Washington Tree was the second largest tree in the world (after the General Sherman Tree
The General Sherman Tree is a giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') tree in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, California. By volume, it is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth.
History
The Gener ...
). Though badly damaged, the tree is still living.
Before damage
The tree was studied in 1999 by scientists fromHumboldt State University
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of Cal Poly (disambiguation), three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) sys ...
and University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
. The tree was tall, with a basal diameter of . Its total volume was , including the main stem and the 46 largest branches . The scientists discovered a large cavity in the trunk
Trunk may refer to:
Biology
* Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso
* Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure, and the stem of woody plants
* Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy
* Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant
Comput ...
of the tree, measuring in height by in diameter. The cavity was accessible only by a hole situated above the ground. The significance of this finding is that the volume of wood in the tree had been greatly overestimated by previous measurements.
Damage and collapse
In September 2003, a fire caused by a lightning strike
A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning ...
damaged the tree's crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
. National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
officials decided to let the fire burn without human intervention. The tree lost a large portion of its crown in the fire, reducing its height to about .
The structurally weakened tree partially collapsed in January 2005, as the result of a heavy snow load in the remaining portion of its crown. The tree lost more than half its height, most of its branches, and much of the trunk, including the entire hollow upper portion of the trunk. It is now high, with only a few branches living near the top of the tree.
The Washington Tree is no longer one of the top ten largest giant sequoias, though the National Park Service still lists it as the second largest, due to current documentation policy (trees are calculated as if they did not suffer damage). Even in its damaged state, the tree may not be dying, as it still has half a dozen significant branches. Many other sequoias have survived with less foliage, and the tree might live decades or centuries longer.
Regrowth
One side of the Washington Tree has been showing signs of regrowth since at least 2007.See also
*List of largest giant sequoias
The giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') is the world's most massive tree, and arguably the largest living organism on Earth. It is neither the tallest extant species of tree (that distinction belongs to the coast redwood), nor is it the ...
* List of individual trees
The following is a list of individual trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as we ...
References
External links
* {{coord, 36, 34, 6, N, 118, 45, 39, W, display=title Individual giant sequoia trees Sequoia National Park Monuments and memorials to George Washington in the United States