Back in April, 2013, I posted about a Church Tree coast redwood on account of it’s large cave inside, comparable to a room. It came to mind again because someone posted a photo on Instagram of about twelve people in a hollow of a redwood. Recalling the Church Tree, it was apparent that possibly 50 people could fit inside it’s room.

November, 2016, I was scheduled to take  high school senior photos around Crescent City and the ocean. But  arrived one day early to spend extra time in Jedediah Smith redwood park. After  morning photos along Howland Hill Rd., I went back to Elk Valley Rd. and north to visit the Church Tree again.  This was the first time I measured it’s diameter, and the girth surprised me – –  22.5 ft. dbh.

That’s  as wide or wider than about seven of the twelve largest coast redwoods (published). The Church Tree is more or less as wide as the Del Norte Titan in the Grove of Titans, except that the Church tree has a huge room inside of it. You can’t tell from most angles, but a small doorway provides easy access to the interior.This redwood is one of many hidden treasures in the area. My measurement was conservative.

The interior room is about 20 feet from wall-to-wall. Here’s a photo taken from outside with two speedlites illuminating the interior. There are a couple of “R’s” written  and some shadowy shapes like black hieroglyphs … imagine petroglyphs on charcoal.

Church Tree Coast Redwood, as wide as El Viiejo del Norte in the Grove of Titans

Church Tree Redwood Del Norte

Church Tree Redwood Petroglyphs