Three California Trees May Be World's Tallest
Date: 08-Sep-06
Country: US
Researchers who trekked this summer through dense forests near Eureka, California found three coast redwoods taller than the record-setting 370-foot(113-metre)-tall Stratosphere Giant, according to initial measurements, said Rick Nolan, acting superintendent of Redwood National and State Parks.
The tallest of the three trees measuring 378.1 feet (115.2 metres) has been named Hyperion. Additional measurements will be taken to confirm that height, which would make Hyperion the world's tallest tree, Nolan said,
"There is a reasonable expectation that these trees will be larger than the ones known to be growing in the coastal redwood ecosystem," Nolan said. "They would be tallest living trees."
The thick canopy of California's redwood forests obscured the height of the trees from researchers on the ground, who must also contend with a maze of standing and fallen trees in rugged and remote terrain.
"It's impossible from the ground to tell one height over another," said Ruskin Hartley, director of conservation for the Save-the-Redwoods League.
Researchers may have to climb the three trees to drop measuring tapes to the forest floor to obtain accurate measurements, Nolan said.