Which California park contains the world's largest tree by volume?

California’s Sequoia National Park contains the world’s largest tree by volume, the General Sherman Tree.

General Sherman is a giant sequoia, or Sequoiadendron giganteum, growing in the park’s Giant Forest. “Largest” here means the greatest volume of wood in a single living tree, not the tallest tree, widest trunk, or oldest individual. Giant sequoias are exceptionally massive because they combine great height with enormous trunk girth.

Sequoia National Park was established on September 25, 1890, in the southern Sierra Nevada. It protects extensive giant-sequoia groves as well as rugged mountain terrain, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. The neighboring Kings Canyon National Park is administered together with Sequoia, which can cause confusion about where particular famous trees are located.

Another frequent mix-up involves coast redwoods. Redwood National and State Parks protect the world’s tallest trees, while Sequoia National Park is famous for the largest by volume. General Grant Tree, in nearby Kings Canyon National Park, is also enormous and is known as the Nation’s Christmas Tree, but General Sherman holds the volume record.