Standing tall

STANDING TALL North America’s Pacific Coast is densely forested, with millions of conifer trees growing in the cool, wet conditions on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. Massive trees thrive in this climate, such as this old-growth redwood in California’s Bear Creek Watershed. In the distance is Rockefeller Forest, the world’s oldest continuous old-growth redwood forest, measuring more than 15 sq miles (40 sq km).

This tree may seem huge compared to its surroundings, but the title for the world’s tallest tree goes to Hyperion that stands at 380 ft (116 m)—or about twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The exact whereabouts of Hyperion, a coastal redwood, remains a closely guarded secret, and there are no confirmed photographs of it. However, we do know it lies somewhere in Northern California’s Cascade Range, a part of the Redwood National Park, which also houses Helios and Icarus, the second and third tallest trees. Despite its jaw-dropping height, the 600–800-year-old Hyperion was not found until 2006, as it grows in a valley that hides its height from clear view.