Hyperion (tree)

{{Short description|World's tallest tree (California, US)}}

{{use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox tree

| name = Hyperion

| mapframe = no

| image =

| image_caption =

| species = Coast redwood

| binomial = Sequoia sempervirens

| height = {{cvt|116.07|m|ft}} (2019)

| volume = {{cvt|18600|ft3|m3|order=flip}}

| coordinates =

| map = California

| map_size = 160

| relief = 1

| map_caption = Approximate location in California

}}

Hyperion is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens D.Don, Endl.) tree in California, which is the world's tallest known living tree, measured at {{convert|116.07|m|ft}} tall in 2019.{{cite news |last=Ghose |first=Tia |date=May 23, 2022 |title=What is the world's tallest tree? |url=https://www.livescience.com/28729-tallest-tree-in-world.html |publisher=LiveScience}}{{Cite web |last=Fish |first=Tom |date=2021-10-18 |title=The 25 tallest trees in the world |url=https://www.newsweek.com/tallest-trees-world-redwood-fir-gum-rainforest-borneo-1633800 |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}

Hyperion was discovered on August 25, 2006, by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor.{{cite magazine|last=Preston|first=R|title=Tall for its age – Climbing a record breaking redwood|magazine=The New Yorker|date=2006-10-09|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/10/09/tall-for-its-age|access-date=2010-03-26}} The tree height of {{convert|115.55|m|ft|abbr=on}} was verified by Stephen Sillett in 2006 using both a laser range finder and a fiberglass tape to measure the tree from the base to the crown.{{Cite web |last=Krulwich |first=Robert |date=April 8, 2011 |title=The World's Tallest Tree Is Hiding Somewhere In California |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/04/08/135206497/the-worlds-tallest-tree-is-hiding-somewhere-in-california |access-date=October 22, 2024 |website=NPR}}{{Cite web |date=2006-10-01 |title=HSU Prof Confirms World's Tallest Tree {{!}} Humboldt NOW {{!}} Cal Poly Humboldt |url=https://now.humboldt.edu/news/hsu-prof-confirms-worlds-tallest-tree |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=now.humboldt.edu |language=en}} The tree has grown since then to reach {{convert|116.07|m|ft}} recorded in 2019. Hyperion was found in a remote area of Redwood National Park, inside of the originally designated park boundaries of 1968.{{Cite web |title=Hyperion Tree - Famous Redwoods |url=http://famousredwoods.com/hyperion/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=famousredwoods.com}} The park also houses the second-, fourth- and fifth-tallest known trees, coast redwoods named Helios, Icarus, and Daedalus, which respectively measured 377, 371 and 363 feet in 2022.{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/01/1114846960/hyperion-tree-off-limits-fine|

title=People who want to visit the world's tallest living tree now risk a $5,000 fine|date=August 1, 2022|first=Juliana|last=Kim|publisher=NPR}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/56778/20230602/meet-hyperion-tallest-tree-world-leafy-giants-came-close.htm|title=Meet Hyperion, the Tallest Tree in the World, and Other Leafy Giants That Came Close|first=Rich|last=Co|date=June 2, 2023|publisher=Nature World News}}

The tree was named after the titan Hyperion from Greek mythology.

Hyperion is estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old{{cite news |last=Martin |first=G |date=2006-09-29 |title=World's tallest tree, a redwood, confirmed |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/29/BAGBULF6NG1.DTL&hw=hyperion&sn=004&sc=799 |access-date=2009-08-09 |work=SFGate}} and contain {{convert|18600|cuft|m3|abbr=on|order=flip}} of wood.{{cite book|last=Preston|first=R|title=The Wild Trees: A Story Of Passion And Daring|publisher=Allen Lane Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8129-7559-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/wildtreesstoryof00pres/page/284 284]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/wildtreesstoryof00pres}}

File:Redwood National Park REDW9343.jpg

The exact location of Hyperion is nominally secret but is available via internet search.{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/tallest-tree-world-Hyperion-redwood-national-park-15845425.php|title=Why you should skip seeing Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world|first=Ashley|last=Harrell|newspaper=SfGate|date=2021-01-05}} However, in July 2022, the Redwood Park superintendent closed the entire area around the tree, citing "devastation of the habitat surrounding Hyperion" caused by visitors. Its base was trampled by the overuse and as a result ferns no longer grow around the tree.

Measures to protect the Hyperion tree were officially implemented in 2022 when the National Park Service (NPS) closed public access to its location in Redwood National Park.{{cite web | last=Moore | first=Sam | title=World's tallest tree damaged by tourists, now off-limits in Calif. | website=SFGATE | date=2022-07-30 | url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/You-are-no-longer-allowed-to-visit-the-world-s-17340455.php | access-date=2025-03-31}}{{cite web | last=Magazine | first=Smithsonian | last2=Enking | first2=Molly | title=The World's Tallest Tree Is Officially Off-Limits | website=Smithsonian Magazine | date=2022-08-02 | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-worlds-tallest-tree-is-officially-off-limits-180980509/ | access-date=2025-03-31}} Anyone who gets too close could face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 maximum fine.{{cite web|title=Should I Hike to Hyperion?|url=https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/hyperion.htm|work=Redwood National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=31 July 2022}}{{cite news| title = Want to see the world's tallest tree? You could get fined $5,000. | url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/08/01/worlds-tallest-tree-fine/ | author = Alexis Benveniste | date = 1 August 2022 | newspaper = Washington Post | access-date = 2 August 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Tumin |first=Remy |date=2022-08-02 |title=Thinking of Visiting the World's Tallest Tree? Think Again. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/us/hyperion-tree-redwood-california.html |access-date=2023-09-14 |issn=0362-4331}}