General Sherman (tree)

General Sherman tree before the loss of its largest branch in early 2006 (located in the top right of the picture)

The General Sherman is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) tree located 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.^[1] The General Sherman Tree is neither the tallest known living tree on Earth (that distinction belongs to the Hyperion tree, a Coast redwood), ^[2] nor is it the widest (both the largest cypress and largest baobab have a greater diameter), nor is it the oldest known living tree on Earth (that distinction belongs to the Methuselah tree, a Great Basin bristlecone pine).^[3] With a height of 83.8 metres (275 ft), a diameter of 7.7 metres (25 ft), an estimated bole volume of 1,487 cubic metres (52,513 cu ft), and an estimated age of 2,300 – 2,700 years, is however among the tallest, widest and longest-lived of all trees on the planet.

History

In 1879 this tree was named after American Civil War general, William Tecumseh Sherman, by naturalist James Wolverton, who had served as a lieutenant in the 9th Indiana Cavalry under Sherman. In 1931, following comparisons with the nearby General Grant tree, General Sherman was identified as the largest tree in the world. One result of this process was that wood volume became widely accepted as the standard for establishing and comparing the size of different trees.

Current

In January 2006 the largest branch on the tree (seen most commonly, in older photos, as an "L" or golf-club shape, protruding from about a quarter of the way down the trunk) broke off. There were no witnesses to the incident, and the branch—with a bigger circumference than the trunks of most trees, a diameter of over 2 metres (7 ft) and a length of over 30 metres (98 ft)—smashed part of its enclosing fence and cratered the pavement of the walkway surrounding the sequoia. The breakage, however, is not believed to be indicative of any abnormalities in the tree's health, and may even be a natural defense mechanism against adverse weather conditions. The branch loss did not change the General Sherman's status as the largest tree, as its size has been calculated using measurements of trunk volume, excluding branches.

Dimensions

Base of the tree, September, 1962

Height above base	274.9 ft	83.8 m
Circumference at ground	102.6 ft	31.3 m
Maximum diameter at base	36.5 ft	11.1 m
Diameter 4.5 ft (1.4 m) above height point on ground	25.1 ft	7.7 m
Diameter 60 ft (18 m) above base	17.5 ft	5.3 m
Diameter 180 ft (55 m) above base	14.0 ft	4.3 m
Diameter of largest branch	6.8 ft	2.1 m
Height of first large branch above the base	130.0 ft	39.6 m
Average crown spread	106.5 ft	32.5 m
Estimated bole volume	52,508 cu ft	1,487 m3
Estimated mass (wet)	2,105 short tons	1,910 t
Estimated bole mass	2,472,000 lb	1,121 t