On October 2, 2025, Redwood National Park will be 57 years old. Although 57 years is a long time, compared to the age of the coastal redwood trees the park is named for, that’s pretty young. The average age of mature redwoods is about 600 years, with the oldest redwoods living for over 2,000 years! Not only are these trees old, but they are also tall, reaching 100 m up towards the sky.
Coastal redwoods, also known as giant redwoods, are only found naturally in the unique environment along the coast of central California and southern Oregon. Here, fog forms regularly. When warm, moist air in the atmosphere meets the chilly water in the ocean and the water vapor condenses into small water droplets. The fog plays a vital role in the survival of these redwoods, providing much needed moisture during the dry summer. The tall trees thrive.
In 2022, scientists discovered that coastal redwoods have two types of leaves. One type is familiar to you. It has a waxy coating to help keep water out. Chloroplasts inside the leaves absorb energy from sunlight and use it to undergo photosynthesis (a process that converts light energy, water, and carbon dioxide into sugars and give off oxygen). The second leaf type is adapted to absorb water. It lacks a waxy coating. It has fewer stomata (pores in the bottom of leaves that open and close to let in air or give off water vapor). It has more space to store water compared to the other leaf type. Using these leaves, a coastal redwood can absorb over 13 gallons of water in one hour! What other organisms are found in Redwood National and State Parks? The parks are home to other trees and plants that thrive in the parks’ different ecosystems (all the living and nonliving things in a given area), including Douglas firs, hemlocks, and ferns. Animals, including slugs, salamanders, bald eagles, bears, and Roosevelt elk, also call the parks home.
What Do You Think? What types of trees grow in your area? How do trees in your area get water?
Photo Credit: (t)Barrett Hedges/Getty Images, (b)MBRubin/Getty Images
