When a sawmill was erected in 1861 at the mouth of the Navarro River watershed to mill redwood, at first lumbermen didn't know they were cutting trees that were 500, 1000, even 2,000 years old. 150 years later old growth redwood stumps are persistent reminders of where some of the mightiest trees once stood.
Second-growth redwoods often grow in groupings from the root system of their felled old-growth kin. Over time, weaker trees are crowded out. If you look carefully at some of the trees in these pictures, you can see high-water water markings from floods.
© Dave E Dondero Photography
