Tallest Tree in the World: Hyperion Height, Location & Facts

If you’ve ever stood at the base of a towering redwood, craning your neck to see the top, you know the feeling of smallness. Now imagine a tree more than 50 metres taller than the Statue of Liberty. That’s Hyperion, the world’s tallest known living tree, and its story is as much about human precision as it is about natural wonder. This guide unpacks the numbers, the records, and the questions that still remain open.

Tallest known living tree: Hyperion (coast redwood) · Height: 116.22 m (381.3 ft) · Location: Redwood National Park, California, USA · Estimated age: 600–800 years · Second tallest: Helios (~114.7 m)

The table below summarizes key facts about the tallest tree.

Which is the tallest tree in the world?

Hyperion: the tallest known living tree

• Hyperion is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) (National Park Service – coast redwood guide)
• Its recorded height is 381.3 ft (116.22 m) (Wikipedia)
• It was discovered in 2006 by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor (American Pole & Timber)
• The National Park Service keeps the precise location undisclosed to protect the tree (NPS)

Hyperion’s height was first measured at 380.1 ft (115.85 m) in 2006 using laser hypsometers (NPS). Later surveys, including one reported in 2019, recorded 380.8 ft (116.07 m), and by 2026 the figure had settled at 381.3 ft (116.22 m) according to Wikipedia. The variation illustrates why tree height measurement is as much art as science.

The pattern: Height records are fragile; the tallest tree is also the most vulnerable to disturbance.

Location and species

• Grows in Redwood National Park, northern California (NPS)
• Part of a narrow coastal belt from southern Oregon to central California (NPS – coast redwoods)
• Coast redwoods are the tallest tree species on Earth (NPS)

The coast redwood’s environment – heavy fog, mild temperatures, and deep, well-drained soils – creates the perfect conditions for vertical growth. Most mature coast redwoods exceed 300 ft, but Hyperion stands nearly 20 ft taller than the next known rival.

The pattern: The world’s tallest trees are not scattered; they cluster tightly in a few protected groves where the climate and soil align perfectly. Remove any one factor – fog, altitude, lack of fire – and the record likely falls.

What is the second tallest tree in the world?

Helios and other tall redwoods

• Helios: second tallest known tree, height ~114.7 m (377 ft) (Wikipedia)
• Also a coast redwood in Redwood National Park (Wikipedia)
• Icarus (371 ft/113 m) and Daedalus (363 ft/110.6 m) are among the next tallest known (Wikipedia)

Helios was also discovered by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. The top four known trees – Hyperion, Helios, Icarus, and Daedalus – all grow within a few miles of each other in the park’s remote valleys.

The catch: The margin between first and fourth place is only about 18 ft (5.5 m). That means a storm, a lightning strike, or even a slight measurement error could reshuffle the ranking.

How do these giants compare to other records? The table below puts them side by side.

The table shows that the tallest trees are coast redwoods, not giant sequoias. General Sherman, though massive in volume, stands about 100 ft shorter than Hyperion.

How old is the tallest tree in the world?

Age of Hyperion

• Estimated age: 600–800 years
• Not the oldest tree in the world – some coast redwoods exceed 2,000 years (NPS – coast redwood facts)
• Exact age cannot be determined without coring, which is avoided to protect the tree

Age estimates for Hyperion come from growth rates of nearby coast redwoods under similar conditions. Unlike bristlecone pines, redwoods don’t produce reliable ring patterns in their upper trunks. The 600–800 year window is an educated guess.

The takeaway: Measuring age requires invasive methods, so we accept uncertainty over damaging the tree.

What are the oldest trees in the world?

Methuselah (4,856 years)

• Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) in California’s White Mountains (US Forest Service – old‑growth facts)
• Oldest known non‑clonal tree, age approximately 4,856 years (World Record Academy)
• Exact location kept secret to prevent vandalism

Pando (80,000 years)

• Clonal colony of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Fishlake National Forest, Utah
• Estimated 80,000 years old (US Forest Service)
• All stems share one root system, making it potentially the oldest living organism

Old Tjikko (9,560 years)

• Norway spruce (Picea abies) in Fulufjället National Park, Sweden
• Age determined by carbon‑14 dating of root system – 9,560 years (US Forest Service)
• The visible trunk is much younger; the root system is ancient

Llangernyw Yew (4,000+ years)

• Yew tree (Taxus baccata) in Llangernyw, Wales (National Parks Blog)
• Estimated over 4,000 years old
• Located in a churchyard, still living

These four trees represent different strategies for longevity: solitary bristlecones, clonal aspen groves, hidden root systems, and resilient yews. Each challenges the idea that “old” looks the same.

The implication: If you want to find an ancient tree, you don’t look for height – you look for isolation, harsh conditions, and a slow‑growth survival strategy.

What is Ireland’s national tree?

The sessile oak

• Ireland’s national tree is the sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
• Common in Irish woodlands, especially in the west and southwest
• Distinct from English oak (Quercus robur) – sessile oak has stalkless leaves and acorns on long stalks

Tallest tree in Ireland

• The tallest known tree in Ireland is a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) at Powerscourt Estate, County Wicklow
• Estimated height around 50 m (164 ft) – precise figure is unconfirmed (National Parks Blog)
• Powerscourt Estate has a historic tree collection with many tall specimens

Ireland’s tallest tree is less than half the height of Hyperion. The difference reflects climate: Ireland’s maritime conditions support tall trees, but the coast redwood’s fog‑fed environment in California produces truly exceptional heights.

What we know and what we don’t

“Hyperion is the tallest living tree ever reliably measured.”

Guinness World Records (as noted in widely repeated accounts)

“When we found it, we knew it was something special – the top just kept going.”

Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, discoverers of Hyperion (reported by American Pole & Timber)

“The oldest trees are not the tallest. They survive precisely because they grow slowly in harsh conditions.”

Jared Farmer, historian and author at Smithsonian Mag

These perspectives underline a key editorial takeaway: height and age are separate trophies in the forest kingdom. The record holders in each category occupy entirely different ecological niches.

Related reading: Tree measurement at Redwood National Park

Standing 380 feet above the forest floor, Hyperion was discovered in 2006 and has remained a closely guarded secret to protect it from damage, as detailed in a recent article on Hyperions exact height and protection status.

Frequently asked questions

For conservationists and land managers, the lesson is clear: protect the remaining old‑growth habitats where coast redwoods can still reach the sky. If the fog belt shrinks or the groves fragment, the next Hyperion may never be born – or may be lost before it’s ever found.