Mendocino Redwood Company: About Redwoods

Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) grows in the summer fog belt of California and southwestern Oregon. Its height ranges from 30 to 112 m (100 to 367 ft): one specimen has been measured at 97 meters (at least 318 ft). The diameter of the trunk measures up to 7.5 m (25 ft). The life span of the coast redwood is believed to be 2500 years. Coast Redwood has the ability to sprout from the root-crown following death of the main stem. It is tolerant of flooding and its bark is resistant to fire.

The habitat of the Coast Redwood is a climate where rainfall is typically around 60 inches. Eighty percent of this rainfall occurs during the six months between November 1 and April 30. Topography varies from sea level to about 3,000 feet, and is marked by steep, narrow canyons. The slopes on which Coast Redwood grows commonly rise 50 to 70 feet or more per 100 feet. Soils of the redwood region have mostly been formed on sandstones and shales, and to a lesser extent on slate, chert, limestone and schist.

The distribution of the Coast Redwood currently totals approximately 1.74 million acres. Over 350,000 of these acres (550 square miles) are in publicly owned entities as follows:

•	186,000 (290 square miles) in state parks
•	78,500 (120 square miles) held by the National Park Service
•	51,100 (80 square miles) in state-owned demonstration forest
•	35,200 (60 square miles) in other public preserves

The remaining acres of the redwood forests are owned by a variety of private entities, 1.2 million acres (1,875 square miles) owned by seven industrial timber companies, and the balance of 200,000 acres (310 square miles) owned by private non-industrial landowners. There are approximately 86,000 acres of old growth redwood forests remaining, 80,000 acres of which are protected in parks and reserves.

For more information on a variety of topics and viewpoints about the redwood forests, visit the following web sites:

• California State Parks
• CERES: California Forests
• About.com's Homework Help: Sequoia Sempervirens
• California State Parks: Big Basin Redwoods SP
• Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve
• California Redwood Association
• CLFA (California Licensed Foresters Association)
• CDF (California Department of Forestry)
• California Forests Online
• GORP: Redwood National Park
• Virtual Library: Forestry
• ParkNet: The Redwood Tree
• Save-the-Redwoods League
• Sempervirens Fund
• EPIC (Environmental Protection Information Center)

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