Redwood Forest

We visited a redwood forest in California near Santa Cruz last weekend. I've always know that Redwoods are absolutely huge and really old (boy both of those statements are really understated!), but I there are a number of really other interesting facts about Redwoods.

With all the news of forest fires in the West these days my first thought was that these trees would get demolished. But it turns out that they only grow in a narrow 20 mile band between the ocean and the mountains and thus in the winter there is a lot of rain, and in the summer there is a lot of fog. So the soil and the trees are pretty much damp year round. But then even if they do catch fire, the sap is not as highly flammibe as other trees…the bark will catch fire but rarely will it go further and the tree will repair itself.