Coast redwood

The tallest tree in the world

The redwood is the tallest living thing on Earth. The tallest one, 'Hyperion', is 116 metres — a 35-storey building! You can't see its top from the ground. Redwood bark is 30 cm thick and protects it from fire. Some redwoods have tunnels cut through them that a car can drive through!

The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) grows only in the fog belt of the California and Oregon coast. The tree Hyperion (found in 2006) is 116.07 m — the tallest living tree in the world. Redwoods live up to 2,000 years. Tannins and thick bark make them resistant to fire and pests; they take 40% of their water from fog through their needles. The wood doesn't rot, so 95% of old-growth redwood forest was logged in the 19th–20th centuries; the rest is protected in national parks. A single redwood stores up to 250 tonnes of carbon — important for the climate.

Fun facts

• Hyperion is 116 m — taller than the Statue of Liberty!
• A redwood 'drinks' 40% of its water from fog.
• A redwood seed is as small as a tomato seed — and grows into a 100-metre tree.