Déjà vu - 2014 coast redwood diameter champ

by Mario Vaden

The coast redwood below is one of the New Discoveries found mid-summer 2014 in Redwood National and State Parks. It became a new diameter champion until 2015. In the photo, I am standing mid-trunk and not behind it. The second image below shows part of Déjà vu in the background with a small coast redwood stripped of bark. This damage is typically caused by a black bear.

Déjà vu was measured several times. The average diameter / dbh is 27.4 feet. Based on measurement, location and observation, I suspect this may be one of the oldest in the north coast redwoods. Guessing 3000 years, maybe more.

A few months earlier, John Montague out of Arcata found what may have been fhe first new (measured) diameter champion in 16 years. This started a small rash of new known coast redwood diameter champions between 2014 and 2020.

In 2015, and even wider diameter was measured on another redwood first encountered in 2010, but not measured at the time. The story behind that one is explained on the New Discoveries page.

This Déjà vu was one of the last steps to coast redwood finally overtaking Sequoiadendron as the widest diameter single trunk species in the USA.