Existing comment:
The General Grant Tree is in the light. It's the third largest tree in the world, by volume. 40 feet in diameter at ground level, it's the world's widest-known sequoia. At 1,700 years, it is 1,500 years younger than the oldest-known sequoia. Location, not age, is the key to a sequoia's size. In places with the best combination of moisture, sunlight, and nutrients, they outgrow older sequoias rooted in less prime locations. Apparently, conditions here are ideal, considering how quickly the General Grand Tree has ground so large.
President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the General Grant Tree to be the Nation's Christmas Tree in 1926. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower designated it as a National Shrine, a living memorial to those who have given their lives for their country. |