The question of which tree is bigger, the Redwood or the Sequoia, is not answered with a single name because “bigger” can be measured in two different ways: height and total wood volume. To understand which is “bigger,” one must first distinguish between the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). The Coast Redwood is the champion of height, reaching greater vertical dimensions than any other living organism. The Giant Sequoia holds the record for the greatest total mass of wood, making it the most massive tree on Earth.
Defining the Two Giants
The two species have distinct habitats. The Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is found exclusively in a narrow, moist strip along the Pacific coastline of California and a small part of Oregon. This species thrives in the cool, damp conditions provided by the persistent coastal fog, which reduces water stress and is a major factor in its extreme growth. The Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), conversely, is native to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Central California at elevations generally between 4,000 and 8,000 feet.
Coast Redwoods possess a more slender, spire-like trunk and a narrow crown, giving them a pencil-like profile. Giant Sequoias have an enormous, buttressed base and maintain a much greater diameter far up the trunk, resulting in a significantly bulkier, cylindrical shape. The foliage is also distinct: Coast Redwoods have flat, needle-like leaves, while the Giant Sequoia’s foliage is more scale-like, resembling that of a juniper.
The Tallest Tree: Coast Redwood
The Coast Redwood is the tallest living tree species on the planet. The current record holder is a specimen named Hyperion, which was last measured at 380.8 feet (116.07 meters) tall. Several other Coast Redwoods also exceed the height of any known Giant Sequoia.
The ability of the Coast Redwood to achieve such verticality is directly tied to its unique coastal environment. The frequent summer fog acts as a significant water source, with the tree’s leaves capable of absorbing moisture directly from the air, supplementing the water that must be lifted from the soil. This foliar water uptake reduces the transpirational stress that normally limits tree growth at extreme heights. Scientific studies suggest that the maximum theoretical height for any tree is around 427 feet (130 meters), a limit imposed by the physics of water transport.
Trees move water from the roots to the leaves using a process called the cohesion-tension theory. As the tree grows taller, the force of gravity works against this movement, and the pressure required to pull water upward increases. The Coast Redwood’s ability to mitigate this hydraulic limitation through fog absorption allows it to come closer to this theoretical maximum height than any other species.
The Most Massive Tree: Giant Sequoia
The Giant Sequoia is the largest living single-stem tree by wood volume. This metric accounts for the overall bulk of the organism and is determined by calculating the total volume of wood in the trunk and large branches. The record holder for this title is the General Sherman tree, which is estimated to contain a trunk volume of approximately 52,500 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters).
The immense volume of the Giant Sequoia stems from its growth pattern, which prioritizes girth and longevity over sheer height. Unlike the slender Coast Redwood, the Giant Sequoia continues to widen its trunk throughout its life, maintaining a massive diameter high into its canopy. The General Sherman tree, for example, is around 275 feet (83.8 meters) tall, but it boasts a diameter of 25 feet (7.7 meters) at its base.
The accumulation of this vast mass is possible due to the species’ incredible lifespan, with many mature Giant Sequoias living well over 2,000 years. Their thick, fire-resistant bark, which can reach up to three feet in thickness, allows them to survive the surface fires that naturally occur in their Sierra Nevada habitat.