{"id":14,"date":"2014-03-24T21:46:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-25T04:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/redwoods\/wordpress\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2023-08-31T15:42:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T22:42:44","slug":"coast-redwoods","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.savetheredwoods.org\/redwoods\/coast-redwoods\/","title":{"rendered":"Coast Redwoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coast Redwoods Facts<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Coast Redwoods Facts<\/caption>\n
FACT<\/th>\nWHERE<\/th>\nCOMPARE<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Tallest Tree: 380 feet<\/td>\nRedwood National and State Parks<\/td>\nAs tall as a 37-story building<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Widest Tree: 29.2 feet<\/td>\nRedwood National and State Parks<\/td>\nThe length of 2 Volkswagen Beetles<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Remaining old-growth forest: 110,000 acres (5% of original)<\/td>\nFrom southern Oregon to Central California<\/td>\nAbout size of San Jose<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total protected redwood forest: 382,000 acres (23% of their range)<\/td>\nFrom southern Oregon to Central California<\/td>\nThe size of Houston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Privately owned redwood forest: 1.2 million acres (77% of their range)<\/td>\nFrom southern Oregon to Central California<\/td>\nThe size of 4 Rio De Janeiros<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

To learn more, visit our Redwood Forest Facts<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

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About Coast Redwoods<\/h2>\n

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The Tallest Trees In The World<\/h3>\n
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Coast Redwood Height Comparison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Standing at the base of Earth’s tallest tree, the coast redwood, is one of life’s most humbling and amazing experiences. These California trees can reach higher than a 30-floor skyscraper<\/strong> (more than 320 feet), so high that the tops are out of sight.<\/p>\n

Their trunks can grow more than 27 feet wide<\/strong>, about eight paces by an average adult person! Even more incredible: These trees can live for more than 2,000 years<\/strong>. Some coast redwoods living today were alive during the time of the Roman Empire.
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History<\/h3>\n\n

Redwoods once grew throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The first redwood fossils date back more than 200 million years<\/strong> to the Jurassic period. Before commercial logging and clearing began in the 1850s, coast redwoods naturally occurred in an estimated 2 million acres<\/strong> (the size of three Rhode Islands) along California’s coast from south of Big Sur to just over the Oregon border. When gold was discovered in 1849, hundreds of thousands of people came to California, and redwoods were logged extensively<\/strong> to satisfy the explosive demand for lumber and resources. Today, only 5 percent of the original old-growth<\/strong> coast redwood forest remains, along a 450-mile coastal strip. Most of the coast redwood forest is now young. The largest surviving stands<\/strong> of ancient coast redwoods are found in Humboldt Redwoods State Park<\/a>, Redwood National and State Parks and Big Basin Redwoods State Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The native people of California did not typically cut down coast redwoods, but used fallen trees to make planks for houses and hollowed out logs for canoes. The natives also regularly used common redwood forest plants. Read more about uses of redwood forest plants<\/strong> through our Redwood Forest Plant Guide<\/strong><\/a>.
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Biology<\/h3>\n

The coast redwood is one of the world’s fastest-growing<\/strong> conifers, or cone-bearing trees. In contrast to the tree’s size, redwood cones are very small<\/strong> \u2014 only about an inch long. Each cone contains a few dozen tiny seeds: it would take well over 100,000 seeds to weigh a pound! In good conditions, redwood seedlings grow rapidly, sometimes more than a foot annually. Young trees also sprout from the base<\/strong> of their parent’s trunk, taking advantage of the energy and nutrient reserves contained within the established root system.<\/p>\n

Frequent, naturally occurring fires<\/strong> play an important role in maintaining coast redwood forests because they rid the forest floor of combustible materials. Forest fires create space for redwood seedlings (and other plants) to grow. In contrast, decades of fire suppression practices usually result in the accumulation of dead plant material that may fuel intense, destructive fires.<\/p>\n

Redwoods can usually survive natural forest fires because of their thick<\/strong> (up to 12 inches), protective bark<\/strong>. Redwoods get their name from the beautiful reddish hue of their bark. Redwood bark is soft, fibrous and rich in tannins<\/strong> (which help prevent insect damage). You can learn more about the impact of fire on our redwood and sequoia forests through our blog<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Where coast redwoods live, temperatures are moderate year-round. Heavy rains provide the trees with much-needed water during the winter months and dense summer fog contributing moisture to the forest during the dry summer months. Redwoods even create their own “rain” by capturing fog<\/strong> on their leaves. The coastal fog condenses on redwood needles creating water droplets. Some of the water is absorbed by the needles and some drips to the ground, providing water to the redwood forest understory. You can learn more about the relationship of redwood forest plants and fog through our research grants.<\/p>\n

In recent years, scientists have discovered that life abounds in the canopy<\/strong> (the tops of old trees) and on the forest floor. Canopy research<\/a> supported by Save the Redwoods League has revealed that many species<\/strong> can live in the redwood canopy, including worms, salamanders and plants such as Sitka spruce, ferns and huckleberry.<\/p>\n

Learn more about these majestic trees and download the California’s Redwood State Parks brochure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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