General Grant Tree

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title: "General Grant Tree" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["individual-giant-sequoia-trees", "kings-canyon-national-park"] description: "Giant sequoia in Kings Canyon National Park, California" topic_path: "general/individual-giant-sequoia-trees" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Grant_Tree" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Giant sequoia in Kings Canyon National Park, California ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/General_Grant_Tree_in_Kings_Canyon_National_Park.jpg" caption="The General Grant Tree is located in [[General Grant Grove]], [[Kings Canyon National Park"] ::

The General Grant Tree is the largest giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California, and the second largest giant sequoia tree in the world after the General Sherman Tree. Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old, recent estimates suggest the General Grant Tree is closer to 1,650 years old. The tree also features the third largest footprint of any living giant sequoia, measuring 107.6 ft in circumference at ground level.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Grant-tree-xmas.jpg" caption="The tree is decorated as the "Nation's Christmas Tree""] ::

The tree was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general and the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" on April 28, 1926. Due in large part to its huge base, the General Grant Tree was thought to be the largest tree in the world prior to 1931, when the first precise measurements indicated that the General Sherman Tree was slightly larger. On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war. It is the only living object to be so declared.

In September 2003, the General Grant Tree moved up one place in the giant sequoia size rankings when the Washington Tree lost its crown and the hollow upper half of its trunk after a fire caused by a lightning strike.

Dimensions

::data[format=table]

Height above base	Circumference at ground	Diameter 4.5 ft above highest point on ground	Diameter 60 ft above base	Diameter 180 ft above base	Estimated bole volume
267.4 ft
107.6 ft
28.9 ft
16.3 ft
12.9 ft
46608 ft3
::

References

References

1. Fischer, Douglas. (8 December 2003). "Nation's Christmas tree aged 1,650 General Grant in Kings Canyon National Park no young whippersnapper". Oakland Tribune.
2. National Park Service. "Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Information Page".
3. Flint, Wendell D.. (1987). "To Find the Biggest Tree". Sequoia National Forest Association.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::