Giant Forest

Giant Forest
Giant sequoia trees in the Giant Forest, March 2019
Map
Map showing the location of Giant Forest
Map showing the location of Giant Forest
Geography
LocationSequoia National Park, California, United States
Coordinates36°33′45″N 118°45′05″W / 36.562445°N 118.751487°W / 36.562445; -118.751487
Elevation6,990 feet (2,100 m)
Area1,880 acres (7.6 km2)
Ecology
WWF ClassificationSierra Nevada forests
Dominant tree speciesSequoiadendron giganteum

The Giant Forest, famed for its giant sequoia trees, is within the United States' Sequoia National Park. This montane forest, situated at over 6,000 ft (1,800 m) above mean sea level in the western Sierra Nevada of California, covers an area of 1,880 acres (7.6 km2). The Giant Forest is the most accessible of all giant sequoia groves, as it has over 40 mi (64 km) of hiking trails.

Five of the ten most massive trees on Earth are located within the Giant Forest. The largest of these, named General Sherman, measures 36.5 ft (11.1 m) across the base. The giant sequoia is the world's most massive species of tree and is one of the six species documented to grow to 300 ft (91 m) in height; the others are coast redwood, yellow meranti, Eucalyptus regnans, Douglas fir, and Sitka spruce. It is also among the longest-lived of all trees in the world.