Big Tree Wawona, Mariposa Grove, CA Postcard

The Wawona Tree, also known as the Wawona Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park. It had a height of 227 feet (69 m) and was 90 ft (27 m) in circumference. A tunnel was cut through the tree in 1881, enlarging an existing fire scar. The tree eventually became a popular tourist attraction. Often tourists would come to have their picture taken either driving through it or standing underneath the tree. Throughout its history thousands of pictures were taken of it by tourists; it was photographed accommodating everything from horse-drawn carriages in the late nineteenth century to automobiles in the 1960s.