Mary Sturtz Rumschlag

The Secret of Sadie Sequoia Mary Sturtz Rumschlag

Publisher Marketing: The Sequoia Tree The Sequoia tree is the earth's largest tree. In fact, it is the world's largest living thing, growing up to 311 feet and weighing up to 2.7 million pounds! The trunks of the tress grow to 40 feet in diameter - large enough to live in. In all the world, sequoias grow naturally only on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in California, most often between 5,000 and 7,000 feet of elevation. These huge trees sprout from seeds as small and light as oats flakes. Mature trees may produce 2,000 egg-sized cones - bearing 400,000 seeds that scatter only as the cones open. Cones can hang on trees, green and closed, for up to 20 years. Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is America's second oldest National Park. It was created in 1890. A man named John Muir explored the area and fought very hard to see to it that the giant trees were protected. There are so many trees in the Giant Forest! You can walk the Congress Trail and see a grove of trees called The Senate, The House, and some individual trees like The President, General Sherman (which is the largest living sequoia tree) and Chief Sequoia. A little further away you can visit Grant Grove where Grant Tree is located. It is a national monument. Everywhere on the forest floor you can see hundreds and hundreds of cones - little sequoia cones and large pine cones. This is where the story of Sadie was born!