Giant sequoia trees grow to become the tallest trees in the world. They grow naturally in only a few places including California. The giant sequoia tree known as The Pioneer Cabin in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, was especially famous for the tunnel that had been built right through its base.
It was estimated to be over 1,000 years old and was originally given its name because of the large number of holes or hollows in its trunk. These were like compartments found in a log cabin and had been caused over its long life by fires and lightning.
On Sunday 8th January, 2017, tragedy hit the Pioneer Cabin in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. It collapsed during one of the heaviest rainstorms seen in the past ten years. It has been reported that the Pioneer Cabin had looked as if it was dying for a number of years. Only one of the higher branches had leaves, and its trunk was beginning to lean to one side. When it fell, it broke into many pieces.
Despite their huge size, sequoia trees have very shallow roots that reach only about 1.2 metres deep. Sightseers who had visited the tree on the day it collapsed have said that it looked as if a river was running through it, so hard was the rainfall. The shallow roots combined with the heavy rains are being given as the main reasons for the collapse of the tree. Many commentators on online newspaper reports suggest, however, that the real reason for the tree’s collapse is because man cut a giant hole right through its trunk all those years ago.
The tunnel in the Pioneer Cabin was made in the 1880s at the request of a local hotel owner wanting to promote tourism in the area. It allowed tourists to walk right through the tree. Once they were invented, cars were allowed to drive through it, but this was stopped a number of years ago. Many tourists carved their names into the tree inside the tunnel. Many of these old signatures have been exposed since the tree collapsed.
There are a number of other famous sequoia trees. Most of them have been given names. At over 3,500 years old, the oldest is called Muir Snag, found at Converse Basin Grove. The tallest, Redwood at Redwood Mountain Grove, is 95 metres high.
The end of the famous and beautiful Pioneer Cabin tunnel tree:
QUESTION:
VOCABULARY:
