Marathon Pundit: California Collision: Giant Sequoias

The largest species of tree is the giant sequoia, which grows only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. With limited success, the tree has been cultivated in the eastern United States and in Europe.

There are three Sequoia groves within Yosemite National Park, we visited Tuolumne, although Mariposa Grove is the most visited of the three groves. There are about twenty mature sequoias within Tuolumne. It's a two mile walk from the nearest road to the grove, so it's not overrun with people.

The trees are massive, so much so that they are difficult to photograph. That's not the case with the the seedling on the left. But there is a high mortality rate for young trees. But once they're big enough, they are tough to kill--except of course by logging. But most of the trees exist on protected land.

Earlier posts:

Glacier Point Sunset
Half Dome