When examining the photograph, it’s difficult to be impressed. Yes, it’s a large tree, and the way its tightly packed, snow covered branches coil around one another is undeniably pleasing to the eye, but it doesn’t look so impressive until you notice something.

A third of the way up its trunk is a yellow speck. Looking closer, that yellow speck turns out to be a man, absailing down! With that perspective, it suddenly becomes obvious that the pure scale of ‘The President’, as it has been nicknamed, is immense. This is hammered home by the 126 separate photos it took photographers 32 days to take and compile together to create the one amazing image in its totality.

With an estimated 2 billion leaves and possibly the largest sheer volume of wood of any tree in the world, The President would be somewhat wasted as an addition to your gazebo. Just be thankful it’s coniferous, all those leaves might bury anyone foolish enough to try 

Image source: National Geographic http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/sequoias/gatefold-image