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Name: Tabita
Status: student
Age: 18
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 2001-2002
Question:
Hi! I have heard about trees in America, which are that thick, that the cars drives through them. Some of my friends discussed, how old these trees can be. Can you answer that (i couldn't find the answer on the internet).

Replies:
Estimated at 1800-2700 yrs old

http://sequoia.areaparks.com/parkinformation.html?content=bigtrees

largest, General Sherman now estimated at 2100-2200 yrs old

http://www.werc.usgs.gov/news/2000-12-06.html

Anthony R. Brach, Ph.D.

The most famous was Wawona, the "tunnel tree." It was in Yosemite National Park, and my parents and I actually rode in our family station wagon through it when I was four years old. Sadly, the old tree fell over a few years after that. Can you guess why?

It was a giant redwood tree, Sequoia gigantea.

There have been some other "drive-through" trees. Here is a web page with pictures of many of them:

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/7427/

A web page giving some more information on Wawona, including the answers to your question,is at

http://www.nps.gov/seki/2trees.htm.

It also explains why the U.S. National Park Service isn't cutting any more tree-tunnels.

Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
Assistant Director
PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois

Try the Sequoia National Park pages; specifically

http://www.nps.gov/seki/bigtrees.htm

which includes this statement: "The ages of the General Sherman, General Grant and other large sequoias are unknown, but it is estimated that these giants are between 1800 and 2700 years old. "

John Elliott


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