one of the two virgin stands of coastal redwoods (redwood) (Sequoia sempervirens) in the U.S. National Park Service. The groves lie near the Pacific coast of California, U.S., 15 mi (24 km) northwest of San Francisco at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais. Some of these trees are more than 300 ft (90 m) high and 15 ft in diameter and are more than 2,000 years old. The forest, established in 1908 with an area of 503 ac (204 ha), was a gift of Congressman and Mrs. William Kent and was named in honour of John Muir (1838–1914), the advocate of U.S. forest conservation.