The Largest Tree on Planet Earth

Earth is full is incredible trees, and we love posting and sharing about them. 🌲

The sheer variety of tree species throughout the world is amazing, but looking into the very biggest ones is truly impressive.

California is home to some of the very tallest, very biggest, and very oldest trees anywhere. The Giant Sequoias in Sequoia National Park have the largest living trees by volume, and they are a sight to behold. General Sherman is widely known as the largest single stem tree on Planet Earth, not by height or diameter, but sheer volume.

This giant sequoia measures 83.8 meters, or 275 feet tall, a diameter of 7.7 m (25 ft), and an estimated age of 2300-2700 years old. The volume it holds in its trunk makes it the very largest tree currently living.

It’s stunning to think about a tree living for century upon century. Indeed, this colossal sequoia was living in the time of ancient Rome.

And although General Sherman holds the title of world’s biggest tree, the largest known tree to have ever lived was called the Lindsey Creek Tree, a coast Redwood which fell in a storm in 1905. It was truly, truly massive, with a volume twice as large as General Sherman.

One of the difficulties of documenting giants like General Sherman is doing them justice with photographs. Indeed, you must see these beautiful Sequoias in person to understand their profound presence.

The California wildfires in 2021 threatened much of Sequoia National Park. Despite these trees being fire resistant due to their thick bark, no chances were taken, and firefighters spent great care to wrap General Sherman and other trees with foil, to protect against blazes.