The Three Graces

Known as ‘The Three Graces’, these three sequoia are all the same age. How did they come to stand in such an ordered row? At some time in the past, a large tree fell here. In falling, it may have torn an opening in the forest canopy, letting sunlight hit the ground. Eventually one of the frequent natural fires here burned it up. Sequoia seeds sprout in huge numbers after fire. They grow particularly well where it burns hot enough to leave nothing but ash and bare soil. They survive even better where sunlight also reaches them. A row of ash left by the burned trunk of a tree that opened the forest as it fell would be the perfect spot.