The Southern Redwood Botanical Area (also known as Southern Redwood Special Interest Area) is a 17 acres (6.9 ha) ecological preserve in the southern region of Big Sur in Monterey County, California, just north of the national forest's Salmon Creek trailhead.[1] Established by the Los Padres National Forest of the United States Forest Service, it contains the southernmost naturally occurring Redwood.[2] The trees are located in the Little Redwood Gulch watershed adjacent to the Silver Peak Wilderness. The area is just north of the Salmon Creek trailhead.[3][4]
In 2008, scientist J. Michael Fay published a map of the old growth redwoods based on his transect of the entire redwood range.[5] The southernmost tree is about 15 feet (4.6 m) from Highway 1. The reserve is 7 miles (11 km) north of San Carpoforo Creek. It is unmarked and is not open to the public.[6][7][8][9] The botanical area is classified as a special interest area under Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 294.1(a) due to its unique botanical resources for public and scientific purposes.[10][11]
