Tunnel Log in Sequoia National Park

This is a photo dated July 17, 1940 from National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, of Tunnel Tree on the Cresent Meadow Road, photo by George A. Grant. The Tunnel Log is a tunnel cut through a fallen giant sequoia redwood tree in Sequoia National Park in California. The tree was 275 feet (84 m) tall and its trunk had a diameter of 21 feet (6.4 m). It fell across a road in 1937 due to some natural causes. The following year, a crew in the park service cut an 8-foot (2.4 m) tall and 17-foot (5.2 m) wide tunnel through the trunk, making the road passable again for automobiles.

Apart from Tunnel Log, one of the major attractions here, Sequoia National Park, in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia, California in the United States of America, has other attractions like Crescent Meadow, Moro Rock, and Campgrounds in the park including Potwisha, Buckeye Flat, and South Fork, and more such sites.

Fallen Sequoia Becomes A Tunnel

The Fallen Sequoia Redwood becomes a Tunnel, Sequoia National Park California, originally uploaded by Darvin Atkeson.

According to the author of this photo, “Though they are the largest trees in the world, the Giant Sequoia Redwood trees have a very shallow root system and sometimes a good wind will bring one down.” He says, this fallen redwood tree was made in to an attraction in Sequoia National Park by cutting a tunnel on the trunk of the tree.

He says, “I could not have been more wrong. Sure I had seen giant sequoia trees in other parks such as Yosemite but it was nothing like Sequoia National Park. I highly recommend a visit to one of the less visited National Parks in California… The park is also located right next to Kings Canyon National Park…”

Well, I have seen something called “Tunnel Log”, probably this very scene, and I have it in my old photo collection. It is an old black and white photo from the park service with an old automobile passing through it. I have also read details about the tree that fell sometime ago. Come back for that photo and details on the tunnel tree.

The Hazelwood tree

The Hazelwood tree, the 17th largest giant sequoia before losing half its trunk in a lighting storm in 2002, is currently not in the list of the largest 50 trees, though it is still a living tree. It is a giant sequoia in the Giant Forest where the world’s largest tree the General Sherman grows.

Franklin tree, the world's seventh largest tree

Franklin tree, the seventh largest giant sequoia in the world as of 2008, is in the Giant Forest within Sequoia National Park located in the western Sierra Nevada of California. Here the largest tree in the world the General Sherman also lives. The Franklin tree was named after Benjamin Franklin. The forest has five out of the ten largest trees by volume on the planet.

President tree, the third largest tree in the world

The President tree, with 1318 cubic meter (46,545 cubic feet) of trunk wood volume, is the third largest tree in the world with a height of about 241 feet (73.5 meters). The giant sequoia, believed to be between 2500 and 3000 years old, is located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park, USA. It was named after President Warren G. Harding in 1923.

Lincoln, the fourth largest tree in the world

The Lincoln tree, a giant sequoia located in Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park, is the fourth largest tree in the world. It has 44,471 cubic feet of wood in its trunk (wood in the branches and roots not included).

Muir Snag tree, the oldest giant sequoia

The Muir Snag tree, located at Converse Basin, in Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California, is believed to be the oldest giant sequoia, but it is now dead though it is still standing with a height of only at 140 feet (43 m). It has a base diameter of 35.9 feet (10.9 m). This tree is estimated to be between 3000 and 3500 years old.

Top of the Boole tree

The top of the Boole tree is mostly dead with no branches and leaves.

Boole tree, the sixth largest tree in the world

The 267-feet (81 m) tall Boole tree, a giant sequoia, was originally thought to be the largest tree in the world. But after measuring other largest trees it is now ranked number 6, after 5 other giant sequoia: the General Sherman tree, the General Grant, the President tree, the Lincoln tree, and the Stagg tree. Boole has a trunk volume of 42,472 cubic feet (1,202.7 cubic meters) and an enormous base, with a girth of over 113 feet (34 m).

The Boole tree is located in Converse Basin grove in Sequoia National Forest, in the edge of Kings Canyon, 5 miles (8 km) from Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California. The tree was named after Franklin A. Boole, a supervisor of the logging operations, who spared the tree's life due to its great size.

General Sherman tree and other giant trees

The General Sherman tree is estimated to weigh about 2100 tons, the weight of 1489 cubic meters (52,584 cubic feet) of wood in its trunk, excluding branches and roots. Its height is 84.2 m (274.9 ft) and the girth at ground level is 33 m (109 ft).

As of 2009, the largest Giant Sequoias (all located within California) by volume are about 50, according to Wikipedia and other sources. Following General Sherman tree, General Grant tree (Grant Grove), President tree, (Giant Forest), Lincoln tree (Giant Forest), Stagg tree (Alder Creek Grove), Boole tree (Converse Basin), Franklin tree (Giant Forest), King Arthur tree (Garfield Grove), Monroe tree (Giant Forest), and Genesis tree (Mountain Home Grove) come in the list of largest ten trees in the world.

When we use superlatives like the largest tree, please note that these are based on the volume of wood in the main trunk (stem) of the tree. These measurements need not be accurate, and in fact, have a low degree of accuracy, varying up to 14 cubic meters (+/-), due to difficulties in taking accurate measurements.

To calculate the volume, the diameter of the stem is measured at set heights up the trunk and it is assumed that the trunk is circular in cross section. It is also assumed that the taper between measurement points is even. Also, if the tree has cavities it is not taken into account as it is neither easy to measure the cavity nor easy to know the extent to which the cavity exists. Also, the volume measurements show only the volume of the trunk, and do not include the volume of wood in the branches or roots.

The Hazelwood Tree, not listed in the 50 largest trees, had a volume of 36,228 cubic feet before losing half its trunk in a lightning storm in 2002. If it were still at full size it would have been the 16th largest giant sequoia on earth. Click here for more details and photo of General Sherman tree.