Coastal redwoods are the tallest of all tree species; and America's western coast is the only home for these ancient giants. The record setter, towering 379 feet above the forest floor, is located in Redwood National Park, California.
    Discovered in August 2006, the tree was named Hyperion after a deity in Greek mythology. Located by California by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, this find was only a few hundred feet from the edge of a 1970s clear-cut section of forest. While some of these giants live to be 2000 years old, Hyperion is thought to be very young, with estimates at 600 years old.
   The towering redwood and colossal sequoia tree species only grow on the western slopes of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in western United States. These high elevation mountains block the tree's eastward advances by halting their life sustaining moisture. Even though much of the habits of these redwood and sequoia trees have been preserved in state and national parklands, only four percent of the world's original redwood forests remain. Logged at an alarming rate, three state parks (Prairie Creek Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods and Jedediah Smith Redwoods), coupled with the Redwood National Park, represent nearly half of the old-growth redwood forests. Together, these preserves make up a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve, while the Forest Stewardship Council continues to allow the surrounding redwood forest to be clear-cut.
   The inset image, with our model for scale, offers a good idea of the size of these redwood giants. This tree is named The Founder Tree and boasts of impressive measurements. The park storyboard height is depicted as 346 feet (actual height 325 ft), with a diameter of 12 feet and a circumferance of 40 feet.

     Coastal Preserves Map