Can The World's Tallest Trees Survive?

Some 30 million people a year make a pilgrimage to northern California to see the towering coastal redwoods. But can the remaining stands of these remarkable trees survive the triple scourge of climate change, drought and wildfires?

- Lynn Houghton

For sheer heart-stopping excitement, nothing quite compares with driving up Northern California’s photogenic, cliff-hugging Highway 1, with its dramatic vistas over the Pacific Ocean. This landscape of wave-soaked beaches and rugged, precipitous promontories rivals the best of the Hawaiian islands.

Yet turn inland and the scenery is just as spectacular. Mist-saturated forests run the entire length of the coast (800km from Big Sur to the Oregon border), and are awash with monumental redwood trees.

Motor north up Highway 1, turn east onto Highway 128 in Mendocino County and follow it along the Navarro River, and you’ll find hundreds of these magnificent specimens. Redwoods dominate the landscape for miles, a breathtaking sight that compels drivers to stop and stand among giants.

Often referred to as the blue whales of the plant world, coastal redwoods are the tallest living things on the planet, able to exceed more than 100m in height. Equally impressive is their longevity, with many trees reaching their 1,000th birthday. The oldest known redwood is thought to be an eye-popping 2,200 years old.

The tallest individual, a roughly 600-year-old specimen known as Hyperion, is located in Redwood National and State Parks, Humboldt County (a UNESCO World Heritage site). Located on a steep, remote slope, it commands the landscape from a height of nearly 116m.