USA – Redwood National & State Parks

UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the World

In this series, we explore the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the world. A site is deemed to be a World Heritage Site by UNESCO if it is of outstanding universal value and meets at least one out of ten selection criteria.

CATEGORY: Landscape, History, Natural – Outstanding Universal Value

• The Redwood National Park’s primary feature is the coastal redwood forest, a surviving remnant of the group of trees that has existed for 160 million years and was once found throughout many of the moist temperate regions of the world, but is now confined to the wet regions of the west coast of North America. The park contains some of the tallest and oldest known trees in the world. (1)
• Redwood National Park comprises a region of coastal mountains bordering the Pacific Ocean, equidistant (560 kilometers or 350 miles) from San Francisco, California and Portland, Oregon. It is covered with a magnificent forest of Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), the tallest living things and among the most impressive trees in the world. Several of the world’s tallest known trees grow within the property. (1)
• Rich inter-tidal, marine and freshwater stream flora and fauna are also present in the two distinctive physiographic environments of coastline and coastal mountains that include the old growth forest and stream communities. (1)

Interesting bits about Redwood National & State Park

• The Redwood National & State Parks are in northern California, just below the Oregon Border. It is a 7 hour drive from San Francisco and 8 hours south from Portland Oregon
• The Parks are always open, however the visitor centre are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
• There is no entrance fee to enter the parks, however camping is charged by the State government
• Take a lot of water with you. Many of the walks and trails do not have access to any tap water, and even in a cool climate, dehydration is quite possible.
• Sequoias near California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains are larger in volume than the Redwoods of northern California but are not as tall
• The average age of a redwood is 500-700 years but some have been known to live for 2000 years
• Sadly up to 96 percent of the original old-growth coastal redwoods have already been logged, but the park now protects the remaining trees.
• The tallest tree in the park is 379 feet tall.
• Tannin in the bark of a Redwood tree makes it resistant to insects (like termites) and the thick bark helps protect the tree from fire.

Cruises starting in Portland Oregon: CLICK HERE

(1) Information from: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/134/

(2) Resources: https://www.nps.gov/redw/faqs.htm

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