Giant Sequoia tree

A giant sequoia, the world's biggest tree, can grow to be 300 feet tall and live 3,000 years.

On April 15, 2000, President Bill Clinton announced the creation of Giant Sequoia National Monument in central California. This new national monument protects 34 groves of giant sequoias, along with 328,000 acres of land. Logging, mining, and other development will be permanently forbidden in the protected area.

Although giant sequoias once grew elsewhere in western North America, they grow only on the western slopes of California's Sierra Nevada today. Indeed, only about 70 groves of these ancient trees remain. Most of the groves that aren't in the new national monument are within national parks, so they were already protected.

Giant Sequoia trees

Giant sequoias are close relatives of the redwoods, which grow near the coast in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, the world's tallest known tree is a 368-foot-tall redwood. Redwoods may be taller, but giant sequoias are bigger around than redwoods. As President Clinton said, "Giant sequoias grow taller than the Statue of Liberty, broader than a bus."

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