For sheer heart-stopping excitement, nothing quite compares with driving up Northern California’s photogenic, cliff-hugging Highway 1, with its dramatic vistas over the Pacific Ocean. This landscape of wave-soaked beaches and rugged, precipitous promontories rivals the best of the Hawaiian islands.
Yet turn inland and the scenery is just as spectacular. Mist-saturated forests run the entire length of the coast (800km from Big Sur to the Oregon border), and are awash with monumental redwood trees.
Motor north up Highway 1, turn east onto Highway 128 in Mendocino County and follow it along the Navarro River, and you’ll find hundreds of these magnificent specimens. Redwoods dominate the landscape for miles, a breathtaking sight that compels drivers to stop and stand among giants.
Often referred to as the blue whales of the plant world, coastal redwoods are the tallest living things on the planet, able to exceed more than 100m in height. Equally impressive is their longevity, with many trees reaching their 1,000th birthday. The oldest known redwood is thought to be an eye-popping 2,200 years old.
The tallest individual, a roughly 600-year-old specimen known as Hyperion, is located in Redwood National and State Parks, Humboldt County (a UNESCO World Heritage site). Located on a steep, remote slope, it commands the landscape from a height of nearly 116m.
Denne historien er fra October 2021-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra October 2021-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
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Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
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New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
