One Of America’s Largest Trees Is Found In Montana

What Is The Largest Tree In Montana?

It's impossible to know the exact number of trees that are found growing here under the Big Sky.

Estimates put the total number of trees in Montana at almost 12 billion with a trunk size of at least 1 inch, but it's the biggest and largest tree we're going to be talking about today.

Meet Gus: The Largest Tree In Montana

At over 1,000 years old, this tree was already over 850 years old when Montana was officially made a state back in 1889.

Located in the Jim Girard Memorial Grove near Seely Lake, the largest tree in Montana, known as Gus, can be found among a 60-acre grove.

Gus might even be the largest Western larch, also known as tamarack, in the world, but that record has never been verified.

Gus’s Stature: Height And Circumference Of A Giant

If you're curious about Gus's height, it stands at an impressive 163 feet, with an additional 10 feet thanks by his dead treetop.

As far as circumference, well, you might need a few friends to help you wrap your arms around its massive 273-inch trunk.

It was in 2020 when it was named the “Largest Larix occidentalis (Western Larch) Tree in the United States” by the National Register of Champion Trees.

These trees are uniquely built to survive the fires that ravage the forest they grow in, thanks to their bark containing little resin and acting as a heat shield against fires.

Then, thanks to their limbs being so high up on the tree, they are out of reach of the flames, and their open crown at the top lets the heat through instead of catching on fire.

It's assumed Gus has survived 40 fires in his lifetime, each one of them adding to the story of Montana's largest tree.