|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
sequoia
sequoia , name for the redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ) and for the big tree, or giant sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ), both huge, coniferous evergreen trees of the bald cypress family, and for extinct related species. Sequoias probably originated over 100 million years ago. Once widespread in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the trees were almost exterminated by the ice sheets of the glacial ages. Several species are known only by fossil remains; some such fossils have been found in the Petrified Forest in Arizona.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"sequoia." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sequoia." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sequoia.html "sequoia." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sequoia.html |
|
Sequoia
SEQUOIASEQUOIA, a genus of coniferous trees, comprising the species Sequoia sempervirens (the redwood) and Sequoia-dendron giganteum (the giant sequoia), thought to be named for Sequoyah, the Cherokee Indian blacksmith and silversmith who invented the Cherokee alphabet about 1809. Both species average 275 feet in height, with trunks from 15 to 35 feet in diameter. Sequoias are the largest of all American forest trees, with the tallest redwoods attaining heights of more than 350 feet and the giant sequoia generally containing the largest total volume of wood. The redwood is found in the Pacific Coast region, from California to Oregon; the giant sequoia grows wild only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in California, generally between five thousand and seven thousand feet in elevation, where it finds a mix of mild temperatures and adequate rainfall. Sequoia wood is soft, light, and of a reddish color that darkens on exposure. Once believed to be the world's oldest living things—some are more than three thousand years old—sequoias have very thick bark that makes them highly resistant to insects, fire, and fungi. They have a very shallow root system, however, and rely on a straight trunk and well-balanced limbs to stay upright; most fall to their death. Sequoias probably first became known to the white man in 1833, when Captain Joseph Walker's expedition sighted them. A. T. Dowd is credited with discovering the Calaveras grove in 1852. In less than a decade, loggers began extensive cutting of the sequoia, and cutting continued into the twentieth century, although on a lesser scale. The Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada was established on 25 September 1890 to protect the groves of giant sequoia. The General Sherman tree in the park is 272 feet high and one of the oldest living things in the world; another famous tree had a hole bored through its trunk, allowing automobiles to drive through. BIBLIOGRAPHYDilsaver, Lary M. Challenge of the Big Trees. Three Rivers, Calif.: Sequoia Natural History Association, 1990. Orsi, Richard J., Alfred Runte, and Marlene Smith-Baranzini, eds. Yosemite and Sequoia: A Century of California National Parks. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. JohnFrancisJr./c. w. See alsoLumber Industry ; National Park System . |
|
|
Cite this article
"Sequoia." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Sequoia." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401803808.html "Sequoia." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401803808.html |
|
sequoia
sequoia (tree of a) genus of large American conifers. XIX. — modL., f. Sequoiah, name of a Cherokee Indian who invented a syllabary for his native language.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "sequoia." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "sequoia." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sequoia.html T. F. HOAD. "sequoia." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sequoia.html |
|
sequoia
se·quoi·a / səˈk(w)oi-ə/ • n. a redwood tree, esp. the California redwood. |
|
|
Cite this article
"sequoia." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sequoia." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sequoia.html "sequoia." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sequoia.html |
|
sequoia
sequoia
•annoyer, Boyer, destroyer, employer, enjoyer, Goya, hoya, lawyer, Nagoya, paranoia, sequoia, soya
|
|
|
Cite this article
"sequoia." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sequoia." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sequoia.html "sequoia." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sequoia.html |
|