General Grant (tree)

The General Grant tree is located in General Grant Grove, Kings Canyon National Park

The General Grant tree is the largest giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California and the second largest tree in the world.

History

The tree is decorated as the "Nation's Christmas Tree"

The tree was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general and the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" on April 28, 1926. Due in large part to its huge base, the General Grant tree was thought to be the largest tree in the world prior to 1931, when the first precise measurements indicated that the General Sherman was slightly larger. On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war. It is the only living object to be so declared.^[1]

Current

The General Grant is now the undisputed second largest tree in the world after the General Sherman tree as of 2005, when the Washington tree lost the hollow upper half of its trunk after a fire. Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old, recent estimates suggest the General Grant tree is closer to 1,650 years old.^[2]

Dimensions

Base of General Grant tree, 1936

Height above base	267.4 ft	81.5 m
Circumference at ground	107.6 ft	32.8 m
Diameter 4.5 ft (1.4 m) above highest point on ground	28.9 ft	8.8 m
Diameter 60 ft (18 m) above base	16.3 ft	5.0 m
Diameter 180 ft (55 m) above base	12.9 ft	3.9 m
Estimated bole volume	46,608 cu ft	1,320 m3

Source:^[3]

See also

• List of largest giant sequoias
• List of trees

References

1. ^ National Park Service. "Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Information Page". http://www.sequoia.national-park.com/info.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-06. 
2. ^ Fischer, Douglas (8 December 2003). "Nation's Christmas tree aged 1,650 General Grant in Kings Canyon National Park no young whippersnapper". Oakland Tribune. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-6974521.html. 
3. ^ Flint, Wendell D. (1987). To Find the Biggest Tree. Sequoia National Forest Association. p. 94. 

External links

• Virtual Grant Tree Walk
• General Grant: Our Nation's Christmas Tree
• The top 30 giant sequoias

Coordinates: 36°44′53″N 118°58′16″W / 36.7480°N 118.9711°W / 36.7480; -118.9711