Summit Road Tree
The Summit Road Tree is a giant sequoia located in the Mountain Home Grove, one of several sequoia groves found in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. It is the 16th largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered the 15th largest depending on how badly Ishi Giant atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015.
History
The Summit Road Tree, also known as the Summit Tree, was named and measured in 1988 by "big tree hunter" Wendell Flint, with the help of friends Mike Law and Jerry Latham. Flint later determined that it was by volume the 16th largest tree in the world. However, the number two tree, the Washington Tree, lost its ranking in 2003 due to damage from a lightning strike, and the Summit Road Tree is now considered the 16th largest.[1][2]
Dimensions
The dimensions of the Summit Road Tree as measured by Flint, Law and Latham are shown below. The calculated volume ignores burns.[1]
| Metres | Feet | |
|---|---|---|
| Height above base | 74.4 | 244.0 |
| Circumference at ground | 25.1 | 82.2 |
| Diameter 5 ft (1.5 m) above ground | 6.3 | 20.6 |
| Diameter 60 ft (18.3 m) above ground | 5.0 | 16.4 |
| Diameter 120 ft (36.6 m) above ground | 5.0 | 13.6 |
| Diameter 180 ft (54.9 m) above ground | 3.2 | 10.6 |
| Estimated volume (m³.ft³) | 1,036 | 36,600 |
References
- Flint, Wendell & Law, Mike (2002). To Find the Biggest Tree (2nd ed.). Three Rivers, California: Sequoia Natural History Association. pp. 68, 116–117. ISBN 1878441094.
- Otter, Floyd L. & Dulitz, David (2007). The History of A Giant Sequoia Forest: The Story of Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest. Otter Veterinary Services, Incorporated. p. 73. ISBN 978-0961445935.
Further reading
- Flint, Wendell & Law, Mike (2002). To Find the Biggest Tree (2nd ed.). Three Rivers, California: Sequoia Natural History Association. ISBN 1878441094.