The three redwood subfamily genera are Sequoia and Sequoiadendron of California and Oregon, USA; and Metasequoia in China. The redwood species contains the largest and tallest trees in the world. These trees can live thousands of years. This is an endangeredsubfamily due to habitat losses from fire ecology suppression, logging, and air pollution.[citation needed]
Only two of the genera, Sequoia and Sequoiadendron, are known for massive trees. Metasequoia, with the living species Metasequoia glyptostroboides, are much smaller.
These photos from around 1915 capture the image of lumberjacks working among the massive redwood trees in Humboldt County, California. At that time tree felling was at its peak. The photos are part of the Humboldt State University Library Special Collections, a series of pictures from northwest California from the 1880s through the 1920s by Swedish photographer A.W. Ericson.
With the European Americans sweeping towards the west in the late 1800’s, they required wood to build their homes for their families. Commercial logging provided employment, as timber harvesting quickly became one of the top industries in the area.
