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3/27/2023

San Juan Sitka Spruce Update

San Jan Sitka Spruce, photo by Tim Gage 



The San Juan Sitka Spruce was the largest Sitka spruce on record in Canada, but is no more.


Reports are that this massive record-breaker lost part of its top to a lightning strike sometime in 2016, and it was enough to strike it from the top spot as the most massive sitka in the country.


However, this Sitka spruce that grows on Vancouver Island alongside the San Juan River 35 minutes from Port Renfrew, remains a visit-worthy big tree.


It was previously listed at 38.3' in circumference, 205' tall, with a crown spread of 75', containing 333 cubic meters of wood by volume.


The height is now measured at 198' instead of 205', and the difference means it has lost enough mass to remove its distinction as Canada's largest.


So what is the largest Sitka Spruce in Canada after the San Juan tree's fall from top spot?


We will cover the new record breaking tree in a future post.



Read more about Canada's former largest sitka spruce here, including directions to see the tree.


And remember, when visiting big trees, take nothing but pictures, and leave nothing but foot prints. I always try to leave any site I visit in better shape than when I arrived.