When was the Wawona Tree cut?

The Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park was cut in 1881 and teetered over in 1969 during an extreme winter.



The famous Wawona Tree, a giant sequoia in Yosemite National Park's Mariposa Grove, had its iconic tunnel cut in 1881. Two brothers, the Scribner brothers, were paid $75 by the Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Company to create the tunnel as a tourist attraction to compete with the "Pioneer Cabin Tree" in Calaveras. The tunnel was roughly 7 feet wide and 9 feet high, allowing horse-drawn carriages and later automobiles to drive through the living tree. The tree remained a massive draw for 88 years until it finally collapsed in the winter of 1968-1969 under the weight of heavy snow and a weakened root system compromised by the tunnel. Today, the "Tunnel Tree" remains where it fell and is known as the "Fallen Tunnel Tree," serving as a reminder of early park management practices and the natural life cycle of these ancient forest giants.

People Also Ask

The most famous was the Wawona Tree, in Yosemite National Park; it fell during a winter storm in 1969 at an estimated age of 2,100 years.

MORE DETAILS

A tunnel was cut through the tree in 1881, enlarging an existing fire scar. Two men, the Scribner brothers, were paid $75 for the job (equivalent to $2,274 in 2022). The tree had a slight lean, which increased when the tunnel was completed.

MORE DETAILS

As of Sunday, the tree remained safe, thanks to the efforts of hundreds of firefighters, officials say. Firefighters battling a major wildfire in Sequoia National Park had some good news to report on Sunday: General Sherman — the giant sequoia and one of the largest living trees in the world — is still standing.

MORE DETAILS

The Grizzly Giant is the oldest sequoia in the Mariposa Grove, the largest giant sequoia grove in Yosemite National Park, with several hundred mature specimens. At one time, the Grizzly Giant was considered the oldest and largest tree in the world, aged between 2,000 and 3,000 years.

MORE DETAILS

Another tree, the Wawona Tree, had a tunnel cut through it in the nineteenth century that was wide enough for horse-drawn carriages and early automobiles to drive through. Weakened by the large opening at its base, the tree fell down in a storm in 1969.

MORE DETAILS

The two giant sequoia drive-through trees have both fallen: Wawona Tree, in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, fell in 1969. Pioneer Cabin Tree, in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, fell in 2017.

MORE DETAILS

A Mexican cypress - Taxodium mucronatum in the village of Santa Maria del Tule is the thickest tree in the world with a diameter of 11.62 metres and a circumference of 36.2 metres.

MORE DETAILS