Last week I went to the Land of Giants to see the largest trees on Earth. The largest tree species is the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). Sequoias are not the tallest trees, but they are the largest trees by volume. Sequoias grow to an average height of 196-295 feet (60-90 meter), but height isn’t everything. Giant Sequoias can reach more than 32 ft (10 m) in diameter. These trees are gigantic, because they are very old, many of them are older than 3000 years. Giant Sequoias grow only in the western Sierra Nevada mountains in California. It is an endangered species. Fortunately, many are protected in several national parks.

I visited the Sequoia National Park last week, which is one of the Giant Sequoia preserves. This park was established in 1890 exactly 123 years ago today. I spent some time in the Giant Forest, which is the most famous part of the Sequoia National Park and the home of the world’s largest tree, called General Sherman. The President tree also lives here, which is the most beautiful tree, I’ve ever seen. There are numerous hiking trails in the Giant Forest and I was fortunate to hike some of them with my wife and I took many photos about Giant Sequoias. The gear I used for these images: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 17-40mm F/4 lens and Canon 70-200mm F/4 lens. I also used my Tiffen polarizer filter for the wide angle landscape images.