#7 ~ DID YOU KNOW…
Redwood trees are the tallest trees in the world. The tallest California redwood on record is 379 feet tall!
Most full-grown Redwood trees are 200 to 240 feet high. Their trunks average 10 to 15 feet around.
California redwood trees live for a long time. Some live to 2,000 years old! The average redwood tree lives to be 500-700 years old.
California has a great climate for these trees, and the tannin in their bark means that insects like termites don’t like to eat them.
California redwoods often grow in a circle shape. This is because they will grow out of a single trunk of a dead redwood tree. Growing together in a circle also helps these tall trees to stay standing in the wind.
California redwood trees have flat needles that stick out only on the sides of the branches. This is different from other pine trees like the Douglas fir, where the needles are not flat and stick out from all sorts of angles.
The bark of a redwood tree gets thick. This protects the tree from all sorts of dangers, including forest fires. The fire will often scorch the bark, but the inside of the tree stays protected and alive. The bark is rough on the outside, but the inside is silky smooth.
The pine cones of redwood trees that fall from these giant trees are small.
