Redwood trees are the tallest trees in the whole world! The tallest one, named Hyperion, stands at 379 feet tall, which is about as high as a 35-story skyscraper. Their bark is thick, fuzzy, and a beautiful reddish-brown color, and it can grow up to 12 inches thick! That super-thick bark works like a suit of armor, protecting the tree from forest fires and pesky bugs. Redwood trees have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, over 240 million years ago.
These giant trees can live for more than 2,000 years, and they have a really clever way of getting water. Redwoods can actually drink fog right through their needles, which gives them almost half the water they need! Way up high in the treetops, there is a whole secret world with soil, tiny plants, and animals like the wandering salamander that lives its entire life in a single tree without ever touching the ground. Even though redwoods are enormous, their pinecones are surprisingly tiny, only about one inch long. Sometimes new redwood trees sprout in circles around an old tree, and people call these magical rings “fairy rings!”