General Grant tree
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- The National Christmas Tree is in Washington, D.C.
General Grant tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
The General Grant tree is the largest Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" in 1926. It is the only living object to be declared a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war, so proclaimed on March 29, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower [link].
The tree is the second-largest tree in the world, after the General Sherman tree (see Washington tree for details on why the National Park Service lists the tree as the third-largest).
The General Grant tree stands 268 ft (81.5 m) tall as of 2002, and its diameter among the largest of all Sequoias at 40ft (12.3 m). Its circumference at the base is 108 ft (32.8 m) [link].
Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old because of its size, recent estimates indicate that it is much younger at a mere 1,650 years [link].
The tree is named after General Ulysses S. Grant, American Civil War General and the 18th (1869-1877) President of the United States.
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