How California Redwoods Grow So Tall

California redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. Closely related to the Giant Sequoias of the Sierra Nevada, redwoods are only found on the coast of Northern California. This restricted range is one of the factors enabling redwoods to grow so tall in the first place - there's a specific set of conditions here feeding the redwoods insatiable appetite for growth. Enjoy!

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Sources and Resources:
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Images and Music
Storyblocks
National Park Service (Greg Litten)
Humboldt State University
Power and Syred, Science Photo Library
T.E. Dawson

[StuffandThings_]

I think its worth noting that before they were extensively logged, Douglas firs were the tallest trees in the world, with dozens of reliable accounts of over 400 foot trees and one specimen measured at 465 feet... after it was cut down. Its an exceedingly sad story, of all the lost giants of the Puget lowlands and western slopes of the Cascades.

[whoareyoulookingfor]

Seeing photos of them cut down always upsets me. I've cried multiple times in my life over the Red Woods. I was lucky enough to get to visit and see them when I was very young (being from Virginia - hi from the Shenandoah again! - it was quite the trip out), they made an enormous impact on me.

[bjf]

I have one here in northern utah. Its 2 years old and this year it has just exploded in size. Ive been watering it regularly, trying to mimick its native environment. Hopefully it continues to grow like this

[Colorful_Cascadia]

The redwoods is one of the first memories I have in a national park. Such a beautiful place. Love your videos!

[thechad]

Another cool self defense feature is how they react to storms. When facing strong winds from stormfronts, redwoods will whip and snap off the top portion of their form to protect itself from being blown over entirely.
Not unlike a lizard dropping its tail when attacked by a predator, or a body shutting down extremities when facing frostbite. It’s a natural defense to protect the most important parts of an organism. An easy way to identify redwoods that have done this is to look for tops that have more than one stem. Like a hydra, after the top portion is broken off, redwood trees will regrow multiple stems out of the stub.

[WyomingTraveler]

Another excellent video, Cameron, if YouTube doesn’t work out, you should consider teaching. You have a wonderful ability to take what can be a boring and an uninteresting topic. And presented in an informative and entertaining manner. you have also improved your on camera personality. Your occasional adding of humor, improves the video and keeps the observer interested.

[SanilJadhav]

My favourite trees, feels like you teleported back to the prehistoric 💚🌲

[lukew]

You should really consider being an interpretive ranger! They basically do what you do here, but on a much more frequent and repetitive basis! I was a seasonal interp for the NPS for a summer and really wished I could have used some of your videos as reference material when giving guided talks, creating social media content, etc.!

[aspooner]

Good morning! Thanks for the tree vids!

[IndigenousHistoryNow]

I can’t wait to hear about your videos being used in classrooms! This one would be great for a lesson on osmosis.

[powderhoundclips]

Great video! Being born and raised in the desert it makes sense! I work In Ketchikan Alaska (I’d love to see a video made on this island!) and all the trees are MASSIVE!!

Here are a Couple video suggestions (to answer my own dumb questions) to utilize in this format
1) Why is the Teton valley so cold
2) why does the Great salt lake just end?
3) the Uinta mountains
4) Misty fjords national park.
5) Western impact of past growth. (I’ve noticed significant lack of trees in parts of Utah, where just around the corner of the mountain there is a significant amount, is this attributed to logging?)
7) why lake bonneville dried up?
8) what would the west look like if the sierras didn’t block the moisture.

Love the videos! Keep it up!

[danielelindsey]

You compile, organize, and present information masterfully.

[muddybuddys]

Another great vid . brother keep it up they make me want to go to all the parks

[hugmynutus]

One fun fact about their importance to ecosystems is that when it does rain, they sprout new roots that grow up, specific to trap debris that maybe washed near them. They don't just persevere the hills they live on but add to them.

[glowingcookieslime]

These trees are do amazing! A must see in one's lifetime. Go

[drAgonflysix]

Your speaking of the fog belt & the emerald triangle. & not only trees grow big here any plant with a vegetative cycle, it's the soil & fog & amounts of sunlight this area has a perfect environment for plants & trees to grow.

[yoyoyohihihidude]

Cool video. Another reason why they grow so tall is the geography. The largest grow on the canyon floors where water collects and the redwoods form a grove with a thick and rich organic layer on top of the soil. The resources and better protection allows the tree to grow larger in order to compete for sunlight in the deep canyons

[roktman]

This probably has to be my most favorite video of yours so far. Mainly because I just love how unique the north pacific temperate rainforests are. I have read some of the comments and although I've seen it mentioned I feel obliged to mention it aswell. Pseudotsuga menziesii, or rather the coast variant, was and is to this day the tallest tree there ever was, and I feel like other large trees that come to be around the 100 meter mark for example Sitka spruce or, whilst not so tall, Western hammlock or western redcedar deserve some sort of recognition. This of course includes the douglas fir and eventhough it's not threatened currently, old growth stands are still under the threat of extensive logging. This is most notable on Vancouver island where the upper edge of where the douglas fir can grow is located. I feel like there aren't enough protected old growth stands. You do have the olympic national park which I think is very much worth talking about, but I'm still sad to see there isn't something like a Douglas fir national monument. I think it's definitely something you could mention in your future videos. Beside that I think your explanation towards why these trees do grow tall was very good, considering how wide the entire topic is and how much still isn't known. Another thing is, you could also make a video on sequoiadendron gianteum, the giant sequoia that grows only in a few places in the sierra nevada mountain range, which is also another hotspot for tall trees such like the ponderosa pine or sugar pine which both in some cases exceed the 80 meter mark and I believe are worth mentioning. Most of it is protected in national parks such as sequoia national park, kings canyon or yosemite but climate change seems to be its largest threat so far.

[gurtsmunta]

Thriving in the UK more than 500, 000 growing brought in by seed collectors in the 1800s and our climate suits them, although they have a lot of growing to do .

[HowlingWolf]

Great video! My family and I are planning a trip to Redwoods NP this summer and I'm pumped for it! I also didn't know that trees released excess water from their leaves, I just assumed they only took what they needed.