California - Redwood Highway

Redwood Highway is the name given to that 300mi/480km stretch of the U.S. 101 which passes through the terrain where about 97% of all Californian Redwoods grow, most of them between Leggett and the Oregonborder. Humboldt Redwoods State Park runs along both sides of the highway. Before this road was built the Avenue of the Giants - parallel to it - was the main route from Philipsville in the south to Pepperwood in the north.

Redwoods also grow in Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park, a few miles east of the U.S. 101 on the CA 36 south of Carlotta, and in Redwood National Park between Orick and Crescent City, on the Oregon border, to which the Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park belongs. Almost everywhere where Redwoods grow you will come across stalls selling wood-carvings, ranging from little boxes to larger-than-life legendary figures.

North Coast Daylight

Part of the Redwoods and many other natural beauty spots along the north Californian coast which are difficult to get to can also be enjoyed by taking a ten-hour train ride on the North Coast Daylight from Willits to Eureka. On this journey you will pass through no fewer than 25 tunnels and over 29 bridges.

Redwoods

Extent and general

Redwoods grow along the coast from Monterey northwards inland as far as Oregon, and also in a small part of the Sierra Nevada. The botanical name of the former is sequoia sempervirens and that of the latter sequoia gigantea. It is not generally known that it was the Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher who first described these trees in 1847 and chose for them the name sequoia in honor of Sequoyah, the author of the Cherokee alphabet.

Age and size

The Sierra sequoias (found mainly in the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks) live longer (maximum age 3,200 years) than the coastal sequoias, which are far more prevalent but reach an age of only 220 years at the most. Both are exceeded age-wise by the less imposing Bristlecone Pine of the Sierra, the oldest specimen of which is said to be 4,600 years old. The tallest tree that has been measured was a coastal sequoia which reached 360ft/110m. The Sierra sequoias, however, have a larger girth and are broader. Many have met an early end as the result of storms, particularly through being struck by lightning. Tree-fellers have also reduced their volume considerably. Now these trees are a protected species, only a limited degree of felling being allowed.

Propagation

Propagation of Redwoods takes place in a manner which is somewhat different from that of other conifers. The cones, sometimes containing as many as 1,000 seeds (a normal tree has about 600 cones), do not fall to the ground of their own accord, but are pulled off by squirrels who do not in fact eat the seeds. For some time now the authorities have adopted the practice of setting fire deliberately to sections of the forest, something which previously occurred naturally. This dries out the cones lying on the forest floor and they then open up within a few days. The seeds fall on the ashes, which have cooled in the meantime, and young trees shoot up within a few months; most die, admittedly, but sufficient survive. These biological links were not appreciated until a comparatively short time ago.

Distribution

Only a few sequoias thrive outside California and Oregon. The Russians, who settled in Fort Ross in the first half of the 19th century, were the first to plant sequoia seeds and saplings in Europe. Redwoods continue to be of great significance to the timber industry in northern California; more and more of these ancient trees are being threatened by indiscriminate felling.