Sequoia National Park was founded on this day in 1890, and while the park’s 128 years is nothing to sneeze at, some trees in the giant sequoia grove had called this home for thousands of years before they were given the protection of a national park. The Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park is where General Sherman, the largest tree in the world, stands. It is estimated to be 2,300 to 2,700 years old—a silent witness to both natural and human history. By the time Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa ‘found’ the Pacific Ocean in 1513, General Sherman had been growing for more than 1,500 years.
Walking among the giants
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Satellite image of sand and seaweed in the Bahamas
-
Old Town in Prague, Czech Republic
-
Longer days mean warmer sand
-
Birthplace of Roman emperors
-
Chocolate Hills
-
An emerald isle of the Emerald Isle
-
Hello, harbinger of spring
-
A peek behind the royal curtain
-
The long and wiggling path
-
In the valley of the doll
-
Tokyo welcomes a futuristic new art museum
-
Brain coral
-
The roots of invention
-
Eye of the cave
-
These patterns tell a story
-
Let the games begin
-
The meeting point of the winds
-
Tintern Abbey, Wales
-
Big Bend National Parks birthday
-
Saffron in bloom
-
Welcome to El Cervantino
-
American bison, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
-
With leaves this tasty, who cares about a view?
-
Basking in the glow
-
Great hornbill, Thailand
-
I am the walrus
-
National Museum of African American History and Culture
-
Signs of life in the Empty Quarter
-
State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
-
A misty morning in Brazil