Abbott Creek Grove

N.B. The sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, occurs in 75 recognized groves. Generalized information on those 40 that are not in a State or National Park is given in this and the Agnew Grove descriptions.

The sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, also known as the giant sequoia, Sierra redwood, or Big Tree, grows in a belt some 400 kilometers (260 miles) long and no more than 25 kilometers (15 miles) wide along the western slope of the Sierra. These trees are found in a relict distribution of groves ranging in size from less than 5 hectares (12 acres) to several thousand hectares. All but eight of the groves are south of the Kings River; these eight northern groves are often broadly disjunct. The southern groves are located in a belt 110 kilometers (70 miles) long.

Generally, the groves are found between 1,525 meters (5,000 feet) and 2,285 meters (7,500 feet), though the tree's elevation range is from 850 meters (2,800 feet) on the South Fork of the Kaweah River to 2,682 meters (8,800 feet) for an outlier above the Atwell Grove in Sequoia National Park.

Though ranking among, but not the world's tallest or oldest trees, the sequoia is the largest in volume. The General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park, which stands 83 meters (272 feet) tall, has a volume, excluding the limbs (many of which in themselves would make fair-sized trees) of 1,405 cubic meters (49,660 cubic feet). Measurements of the Sherman Tree showed an annual growth rate of about 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) which would give it an annual yearly average of new wood production of about 1.1 cubic meters (40 cubic feet), making it among, if not, the fastest growing tree in the world.

Average heights for mature trees run between 76 and 84 meters (250 - 275 feet), with two trees, one in the South Calaveras Grove, the other in the Redwood mountain Grove, tying for the tallest tree at 94.5 meters (310 feet).

While greater ages have been claimed, the oldest authenticated count for a sequoia is 3,200 years. As the heartwood is particularly resistant to decay, logs that fell several hundred years ago are not uncommon. Radiocarbon dating of a burned stump gave a date of 2,100 ± 100 years B.P. for the tree's death.

The Abbott Creek Grove of sequoias, Sequoiadendron giganteum, lies approximately 3 kilometers (2 miles) west of the General Grant Grove in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park.

March 1978