Hi Fred,

Here is the info that you asked about the General Sherman:

Since its discovery in the mid-nineteenth century, giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), also called sequoia, bigtree, and Sierra redwood, has been noted for its enormous size and age, and its rugged, awe-inspiring beauty. Because the species has broad public appeal and a restricted natural range, most groves of giant sequoia have been accorded protected status. Outside its natural range, both in the United States and in many other countries, giant sequoia is highly regarded as an ornamental and shows promise as a major timber-producing species.

The branch that I referred to (the lowest branch on the tree) has fallen off. If that branch was a tree, it would have had more mass than any tree east of the Mississippi River. Another branch fell off in 1978 that was 140' long and was over 7' in diameter. It was bigger than any tree east of the Cascade/Sierra Nevada crest! The volume of the General Sherman has been estimated at 52,500 cubic feet. Sequoia wood has a specific gravity of 0.3 which makes a cubic foot of the wood weighs approximately 20 lbs. So the entire General Sherman would weigh about 1 million pounds (52,500 cubic feet x 20 lbs/cubic ft ~ 1 million pounds).

Neal: