I took this picture of a giant sequoia on the valley floor
On the way to Yosemite Bill, Mark, Kyle and I got into a heated debate on the above question, my opinion being 'No". I was out numbered in the vehicle, and had to conceed a defeat when the woman in the Kiosk at the entrance to the Park sided with them.
In the park we did find an example of what we thought at one time to be;
The World's Most Massive Living Thing
I got the below from a great website about botanical issues;
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0601.htm
"Prior to the discovery
of ancient bristlecone pines and creosote bush rings, the world's record for
longevity went to the magnificent giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron
giganteum) of the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The greatest
authenticated age of a giant sequoia, derived from counting annual rings on a
cut stump, was nearly 3,200 years. Although it may fall short of the world's
oldest, the giant sequoia has the undisputed record for the world's most massive
living thing. The largest tree, named General Sherman, is 272 feet (83 m) tall
with a massive trunk 35 feet (11 m) in diameter and 109 feet (33 m) in
circumference at the base. Even more remarkable is the fact that at a point
120 feet (36 m) in the air the trunk of General Sherman is still 17 feet (5 m)
in diameter. It has been estimated to contain over 600,000 board feet of
timber, enough to build 120 average-sized houses. In fact, a single giant
sequoia may contain more wood than is found on several acres of some of the
finest virgin timberland in the Pacific Northwest. The trunk of General
Sherman alone weighs nearly 1400 tons. By way of comparison, this is roughly
equivalent to 15 adult blue whales, 10 diesel-electric train locomotives, or
25 average-sized military battle tanks."
In the park we did find an example of what we thought at one time to be;
The World's Most Massive Living Thing
I got the below from a great website about botanical issues;
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0601.htm
"Prior to the discovery
of ancient bristlecone pines and creosote bush rings, the world's record for
longevity went to the magnificent giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron
giganteum) of the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The greatest
authenticated age of a giant sequoia, derived from counting annual rings on a
cut stump, was nearly 3,200 years. Although it may fall short of the world's
oldest, the giant sequoia has the undisputed record for the world's most massive
living thing. The largest tree, named General Sherman, is 272 feet (83 m) tall
with a massive trunk 35 feet (11 m) in diameter and 109 feet (33 m) in
circumference at the base. Even more remarkable is the fact that at a point
120 feet (36 m) in the air the trunk of General Sherman is still 17 feet (5 m)
in diameter. It has been estimated to contain over 600,000 board feet of
timber, enough to build 120 average-sized houses. In fact, a single giant
sequoia may contain more wood than is found on several acres of some of the
finest virgin timberland in the Pacific Northwest. The trunk of General
Sherman alone weighs nearly 1400 tons. By way of comparison, this is roughly
equivalent to 15 adult blue whales, 10 diesel-electric train locomotives, or
25 average-sized military battle tanks."
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