There are many tall trees around the world whose extraordinary height has been exaggerated and controversial. Nevertheless, using the latest measuring instruments, such as laser rangefinders and tape fall measurements, it was possible to find out the real height of the giant trees. Here ten tallest trees in the worldthat remain unchanged as the world changes around them.
Almost all of the presented trees are so tall that to photograph them completely is simply impossible. Dense vegetation also makes it difficult to do this.
10. Mendosino
The height of the tree is 112.20 m.
Located in Montgomery Woods (a nature reserve in the United States), Mendosino bore the title of the highest tree in the world from 1996 to 2000. Other sequoias grow next to Mendosino, but if you look at them from above, the giant rises above its brothers in the same way as Arnold Schwarzenegger over the kids in the film "Kindergarten Cop".
9. The paradox
Height - 112.56 m.
A tree located in the forest of John Davison Rockefeller in Humboldt (USA) was considered the tallest tree on the planet to the number ten of our rating, that is, from 1995 to 1996. The diameter of the barrel is inferior to Mendosino (3.9 meters versus 4.19 meters). And finding it to researchers and simply curious was very difficult, since there were no photos or coordinates of the Paradox at that time. Of all the giant trees known to date, the Paradox stands out for its beauty.
8. Rockefeller
Height - 112.6 m.
A neighbor of Paradox, also native to California's Humboldt Redwood National Park and the eighth longest tree on Earth. It is named after the billionaire, famous not only for his fortune, but also for the number of years lived. Rockefeller's long, slender “body” invariably delights those who are lucky to see him. And this is not easy to do, since the exact coordinates of most of the tallest trees are kept secret (it’s easier than protecting them from vandal tourists around the clock), and it’s not so easy to distinguish Rockefeller from other sequoias from below. Its trunk diameter has not yet been measured.
7. Lauralin
Height - 112.62 m.
And again, in the top 10 giant trees was a “resident” of Humbolt Park. It was discovered by Paul Zinke and Al Strangenburger. Like other sequoias, Lauralin is an entire ecosystem, birds nest in it, insects live, lichen and other representatives of the local flora grow. It is noteworthy that the location of Lauralin is not hidden from the public.
6. Orion
Height - 112.63 m.
One of the tallest trees grows in California's Redwood National Park. Finding Orion is an almost impossible task, because the tree giant is right next to two other giant sequoias, although it is twice as large as they are when viewed from a height. Orion is about 1,500 years old.
5. National Geographic Society
Height - 112.71 m.
A giant with a long name, belonging to sequoias, was opened in 1994. At that time, he was considered the largest known tree in the world and held this title for a year. The tree is located near the Redwood Creek River, but its exact location is kept secret. It is larger in diameter than Mendosino and Paradox (4, 39 meters).
4. The stratospheric giant
Altitude at the time of detection - 112.34 m
This worthy representative of the tallest trees was found in 2000 in the Humboldt National Park. Then the tree was 112.34 meters high, but continues to grow. In 2010, it reached a height of 113.11 meters. Like all the other numbers in our charts, the Stratospheric giant belongs to sequoias and is fenced by many trees that are almost as tall. The exact location of the tree is hidden so that it is not damaged by overly active citizens.
3. Icarus
Height - 113.14 m.
In third place on the longest trees chart is the sequoia discovered by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in Redwood Park, California. Icarus got his name for the dead “crown” burnt out in the sun. However, in Redwood there are also enough other trees with dead tops, so it will be deliberately difficult to find Icarus, and they don’t tell the public exactly where he is.
2. Helios
Height - 114.58 m.
Another highest sequoia tree found in the Redwood parkland by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in July 2006. It is not much shorter than the competitor occupying the first line of the rating.
1. Hyperion - 115.61 m
Tops the top 10 tallest trees in the world with Northern California sequoia, bearing the proud name Hyperion. The volume of its trunk is 502 m³, and the age is estimated at 700-800 years. The indefatigable naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor discovered a tree in Redwood National Park and believe that Hyperion could be greater if not for woodpeckers. They damaged the trunk of a titanic tree at its very top. The last measurement of Hyperion was carried out in 2015.
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Sequoias, aka red trees, are the highest species of trees on Earth. Representatives of the species “pretty fir” (aka Douglas fir) and eucalyptus in Australia could compete with them, but the largest of these trees were mercilessly cut. By the way, the same fate awaited Hyperion, but in his fortune the Redwood Valley in the 70s of the last century became the Redwood National Park and tree felling was prohibited there. Currently, there are hundreds of sequoias exceeding a height of 100 m and there are no living trees of other species exceeding this height.
Although Hyperion is unsurpassed in the length of the trunk, in terms of volume, mass and age, it is inferior to a sequoia called General Sherman. General Sherman’s height is modest compared to other representatives of the highest trees rating - 83.8 m, but the mass is a record 1900 tons, the trunk volume is 1487 m³, and the age reaches from 2300 to 2700 years.
The tallest tree in the world - Hyperion
Until August 2006, the title "tallest tree in the world"Belonged to a giant 112.7-meter sequoia, nicknamed the" stratospheric giant. " It is located in the Humboldt National Park in California. To give you some idea of the massive size of this tree, let's say that it is twice as high as the Statue of Liberty, minus the foundation.
But the giant lost its status when two naturalists, Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, stumbled into a group of trees in California's Redwood National Park that were taller than any of the trees they had seen before. They made preliminary measurements using professional laser equipment, and found not one, not two, but three trees that were higher than the "stratospheric giant."
Hyperion means "very high"
The height of the tallest tree, called Hyperion, is 115 meters. If you have no idea how big Hyperion is, then imagine: the height of Big Ben in London is 96.3 m, that is, it is significantly lower than this tree.
This gigantic mahogany (sequoia) would be even higher if it were not for the woodpeckers that damaged the very top of the trunk. This slowed the advance of Hyperion up.
When Atkins and Taylor announced their discovery, a team of scientists led by ecologist Steve Sillett from Humboldt State University arrived in the park to measure the find.
This was done in the most accurate way: Sillett climbed to the top of a tree to lower the ribbon from there directly to the ground. The launch of this tape was shot for National Geographic.
Hyperion was very lucky: in the 70s of the 20th century, only a few hundred kilometers from it was a clear cutting of trees. About two weeks before a man with a saw approached Hyperion, the Redwood Valley turned into the Redwood National Park. Logging companies feared that this would happen and worked 24/7, harvesting valuable mahogany wood and ruthlessly destroying old-growth forests that were there long before people entered the valley. Most sequoias, from which the tallest trees grow, were less fortunate than Hyperion. To date, only 4% of mahogany forests have survived in America.
By mahogany standards, Hyperion is quite young and continues to grow. Sillett believes that the tree is “only” 600 years old, which is about 20 years by human standards.
The exact location of Hyperion is kept secret by the park rangers to avoid a tourist crush near a tree. This can disrupt the fragile balance of the forest ecosystem and harm the tree. After all, tourists can not only admire the huge tree, but also chop off part of the bark “for memory” or scratch something on it in the style of “Jack and Sally were here”.
As Sillett put it, trees cannot escape people like paparazzi, and history teaches us that bad things happen to trees that have become too popular.
It is completely unclear whether Hyperion is the tallest of mahogany trees or simply the largest sequoia known to us. After all, 96% of sequoia forests were victims of loggers.
The highest tree ever measured
The tallest tree in the world, which was measured in the 19th century, is not sequoia, but mountain ash.
- In 1872, the report of the Australian inspector of state forests William Ferguson mentions the fallen and burnt royal eucalyptus (aka Eucalyptus regnans, aka mountain ash), which had height at least 132 meters.
- Around the same time, several specimens of 140 m in height were recorded. Alas, we cannot verify these measurements: all these trees were cut. Rowan was and is an important building material in Australia.
The highest living eucalyptus can be found in Tasmania. The height of the eucalyptus, bearing the proud nickname "Centurion" is about 100 meters. This is the tallest living deciduous tree on Earth.. It was discovered in October 2008 using a laser mounted on an airplane, with which measurements of the height of the terrain, forest heights and forest biomass were carried out.
How tall can a tree be
In an article entitled “Investigating the Limits of Maximum Tree Growth,” Jonathan Amos of the BBC Science Department states that the maximum tree height can be about 130 meters.
When the tree reaches this mark, it will pump less and less water and nutrients. They are simply not enough for new growth.
There is no living tree in the world that grows to 130 meters.
