Coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth, and giant sequoias are the most massive. One is the tallest living thing on the planet and the other holds more wood than any other tree, so the answer depends on whether “bigger” means taller or heavier. Both grow only in California, but in very different places: redwoods in coastal fog, sequoias in high mountains. Each tree’s shape reflects the conditions it grows in.
The Coast Redwood Is Taller
The coast redwood is the narrower tree of the north coast. The tallest known living tree is a redwood named Hyperion, which measured 116.22 meters, about 381 feet, in 2026.1Wikipedia. Hyperion (tree) The same park holds the second-, fourth- and fifth-tallest known trees, at 377, 371 and 363 feet.2Wikipedia. Hyperion (tree) At 381 feet, Hyperion is taller than a 30-story building and would stand well above the Statue of Liberty, base included.
You also won’t find Hyperion’s location on any map. It is kept unpublished to protect the tree, since visitors trampling the ground compact the shallow roots and soil. The famous tall trees you can visit are slightly shorter but still record-class.
The giant sequoia is the stout tree of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The tallest giant sequoias measured by instrument were about 310 feet.3NPS History. The Tree as an Individual A typical mature sequoia is closer to 250 to 275 feet.4NPS History. The Tree as an Individual Among the tallest trees climbed for study, the redwood measured about 116 meters and the sequoia 96 meters, a gap of roughly 65 feet.5Ecological Monographs. How do tree structure and old age affect growth potential of California redwoods?
Those measurements come from instruments and climbers for a reason. The top of a redwood is hidden by surrounding crowns, so you can’t judge height from the ground. Researchers confirm a record with a laser rangefinder, and by climbing to the top and dropping a tape measure to the ground, which settles close calls.
Sequoias are often called the “giants” and assumed to be the taller tree, because their huge trunks look bigger in photographs. A thick trunk reads as size to the eye, while a slender redwood can look less imposing even when it is 60 or more feet taller.
The Giant Sequoia Is Bigger by Mass
The largest known giant sequoia carries about 582 metric tons of dry wood and bark above ground.6Ecological Monographs. How do tree structure and old age affect growth potential of California redwoods? The largest known redwood carries about 424 metric tons.7Ecological Monographs. How do tree structure and old age affect growth potential of California redwoods? So the biggest sequoia outweighs the biggest redwood by roughly a third, despite being shorter. The General Sherman Tree, a sequoia, is the largest known tree by volume, largely because its trunk tapers only slightly.8NPS History. The Tree as an Individual
Scientists compare trees by dry wood and bark because a living tree is full of water, and the amount changes with season and weather. Counting only above-ground material also leaves out roots, which can’t be measured without damaging the tree.
The numbers come from measuring trunk and branch dimensions, calculating volume, and multiplying by wood density. Rankings can shift slightly as methods improve.
Age adds to the picture. The oldest known sequoia studied was about 3,240 years old, against about 2,510 for the oldest redwood.9Ecological Monographs. How do tree structure and old age affect growth potential of California redwoods? As a tree ages, its rings get thinner, but it keeps adding more total wood each year because its trunk and leaf area keep expanding.10Dendrochronologia. Dendrochronological analysis of Sequoia sempervirens in an interior old-growth forest
Why Redwoods Can Grow So Tall
Every tree must pull water from roots to leaves against gravity. As a tree grows taller, its top leaves face more water stress, which can eventually stop growth even in wet soil.11PubMed. The limits to tree height Tall trees partly offset this by widening their water-carrying tubes toward the base.12Trees – Structure and Function. Axial variation of xylem conduits in the Earth’s tallest trees But those tubes can only get so wide, which limits how far this trick works.13Trees – Structure and Function. Axial variation of xylem conduits in the Earth’s tallest trees The top leaves are the last to receive water and the first to feel a shortage, so they set the practical ceiling on how tall a redwood can grow.
The problem is lifting water, not finding it. When the top leaves are stressed, they close their pores to save water, which also slows the intake of carbon dioxide they need to make food. With less food made at the top, upward growth slows and eventually stops.
Fog helps redwoods get closer to that limit. It blankets redwood forests often from May to September, when almost no rain falls.14U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Foliar uptake of fog in the coast redwood ecosystem: a novel drought-alleviation strategy shared by most redwood forest plants It cools the air, raises humidity, and drips water onto the forest.15U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Foliar uptake of fog in the coast redwood ecosystem: a novel drought-alleviation strategy shared by most redwood forest plants Redwood leaves also absorb fog water directly, easing summer drought stress.16U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Foliar uptake of fog in the coast redwood ecosystem: a novel drought-alleviation strategy shared by most redwood forest plants Still, fog absorbed by leaves is only a small part of daily water use.17Plant, Cell & Environment. The contribution of fog to the water relations of Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don): foliar uptake and prevention of dehydration Its bigger role is slowing water loss and rehydrating leaves in summer, which may help explain redwoods’ fast growth and great size.18Plant, Cell & Environment. The contribution of fog to the water relations of Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don): foliar uptake and prevention of dehydration
Leaves change with height, too. In both trees, leaves near the top get thicker and make less food than lower leaves.19PubMed. Effects of tree height on branch hydraulics, leaf structure and gas exchange in California redwoods Redwoods adjust their branch plumbing more with height than sequoias do, reflecting their different homes.20PubMed. Effects of tree height on branch hydraulics, leaf structure and gas exchange in California redwoods
Why Sequoias Grow So Massive
Sequoias live in a different world. Mature trees rely on deep groundwater from Sierra Nevada snowpack to get through dry summers.21Yale E360. Giant Sequoias Face Looming Threat from Shifting Climate The range gets most of its precipitation in winter, much of it as snow that melts slowly in spring and soaks into the ground. With little summer rain and no coastal fog, the tree depends on that stored water.
Fire is part of the picture too. Sequoia bark evolved to survive low-intensity fires.22Save the Redwoods League. What’s the difference: coast redwoods vs. giant sequoias It can be over a foot thick on old trees and holds little resin, so it doesn’t burn easily. Fire scars on living sequoias show they have come through past fires.
Fire actually helps them by opening seed cones and clearing ground for seedlings.23Save the Redwoods League. What’s the difference: coast redwoods vs. giant sequoias Low-intensity fires clear leaf litter and small plants, exposing bare mineral soil where seedlings can take root, and heat opens the cones to release seeds onto it. A gentle fire is part of the life cycle, which is different from a fire hot enough to kill mature trees.
How to Tell a Redwood From a Sequoia
- Location: redwoods grow along the foggy northern California coast; sequoias in about 70 groves on the Sierra Nevada’s western slope.24Environmental Conservation. Ecology and Environmental Issues of the Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), Now Restricted to California
- Shape: redwoods are slender and very tall; sequoias have a massive trunk that barely narrows.
- Needles: redwoods have flat needles in two rows; sequoias have short scale-like needles hugging the twig.
- Cones: redwood cones are olive-sized; sequoia cones are about egg-sized.
- Regrowth: after fire or cutting, redwoods sprout new trunks from roots and burls, woody knobs at the base; sequoias don’t resprout this way.25Save the Redwoods League. What’s the difference: coast redwoods vs. giant sequoias
- Fire and cones: sequoia cones can stay closed until heat from fire opens them, while redwood cones do not.26UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Sprouts vs. Seeds: How Coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) Regenerate After Fire
Trunk shape is a good first clue. It’s easiest to judge from a distance, where you can see the whole trunk, and harder in a dense forest where branches block the view. Confirm it with needles, cones, or location.
For needles, pick up a fallen twig. Flat needles lined up in two rows point to a redwood. Short, scale-like needles that hug the twig, giving it a rope-like look, point to a sequoia.
Another redwood giveaway is the fairy ring: a circle of young redwoods around an old stump, sprouted from the parent tree’s living roots. Sequoias don’t form these rings. Redwood National and State Parks protect the tallest redwoods, while Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks protect famous sequoia groves, and they are several hours’ drive apart.
Roots and Life High in the Canopy
Redwood roots are shallow, often only about 5 or 6 feet deep. They spread wide and intertwine with neighbors’ roots, which helps groves resist wind and floods.
Redwoods often grow on river flats, where floods can deposit silt and scour soil. A broad, tangled root network holds the ground together and keeps trees upright when water rises. If silt buries them, redwoods can grow new roots higher up the trunk.
That shallow network is also why staying on trails matters. Foot traffic damages the roots, and compacted soil reduces the water reaching them.
High above, the crowns hold their own world. In old redwood crowns, fallen debris builds soils up to 1 meter thick more than 50 meters above ground.27Soil Science Society of America Journal. Arboreal Histosols in Old‐Growth Redwood Forest Canopies, Northern California Ferns and moisture-loving creatures live in these hanging gardens.28Soil Science Society of America Journal. Arboreal Histosols in Old‐Growth Redwood Forest Canopies, Northern California The soils also store water for canopy life.29Soil Science Society of America Journal. Soil Organic Matter Processes in Old‐Growth Redwood Forest Canopies
Are They Related, and Are They at Risk
Redwoods and sequoias are close relatives whose lines split about 51 million years ago.30University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dissertation Each belongs to its own genus. Their similar reddish bark and large size come from shared ancestry, while their differences came from adapting to different homes.
The coast redwood also has six sets of chromosomes, which is extremely rare in conifers.31New Phytologist. Whole genome duplication in coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and its implications for explaining the rarity of polyploidy in conifers Most conifers carry two sets.
Both trees were logged. Logging removed about a third of giant sequoias before protection grew, starting in 1864 and expanding in 1890.32USDA Forest Service Research and Development. Evolution and history of Giant Sequoia About 66% of sequoia grove area remains unlogged, mostly in national parks.33Environmental Conservation. Ecology and Environmental Issues of the Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), Now Restricted to California Redwoods were heavily cut as well, and the Save the Redwoods League, founded in the 1910s, helped create the main north-coast redwood parks.34U.S. National Park Service. Redwood Area History – Redwood National and State Parks
In recent drought both trees shed leaves to survive and few died, and many sequoia deaths were trees already damaged by fire.35The Revelator. Can California’s Iconic Redwoods Survive Climate Change? Even so, sequoias are generally considered more vulnerable than redwoods to climate change.36Environment. California’s redwoods and giant sequoia can survive. But only with our help. They depend on a shrinking snowpack, and hotter, more intense fires can kill trees that survived gentle ones. Their small number of groves leaves little room for loss. Visitors can help by staying on trails, following fire restrictions, and supporting park and conservation groups.