Trees

As we all know, California has some spectacular scenery and our great variety of trees make up a large part of it. In this adventure, Huell visits three big trees that are a great example of "California's Gold." First Huell travels to Santa Barbara to see the Moreton Bay Fig Tree. Given to a little girl as a gift from an Australian seaman, the sapling was planted in 1876. That little sapling is now the largest Moreton Bay Fig in the continental U.S. The tree is 42 feet around its base, 80 feet tall and has a branch spread of 176 feet. Next its off to Temecula and the former ranch of Erle Stanley Gardner, author of the Perry Mason Novels. On this spot stands the largest California Live Oak in the world. It stands 96 feet tall, with a trunk circumference of 20 feet and a branch spread of 590 feet. It is estimated to be at least 800 years old. This tree is so big that most people think it is a grove of trees. We end the show in Kings Canyon National Park at the General Grant Tree. This tree is the third largest tree in the world. It stands 267 feet tall and is 2,000 years old. What makes this tree so special is that it is our nations official Christmas tree. The tree was officially dedicated on April 28, 1926 by President Calvin Coolidge. Ever since 1926, people from the community and visitors from around the world have trekked to the tree at Christmas time to celebrate our nation and the spirit of the holidays.