How do we know?
↻ One of the pages with a moving picture
Redwoods lift water more than 300 feet up.
- Roots take in liquid water from the soil.
- Water travels up through tiny tubes in the stem. Water is a little sticky: it clings to the tubes and to itself.
- Leaves let water out as water vapor, a gas, through tiny openings called stomata.
- As water leaves the top, more water is pulled up behind it, all the way from the roots.
Redwood roots are only about 6 to 12 feet deep. Yet these trees lift water more than 300 feet up, thanks to water evaporating from the leaves and pulling more water up.
You can see the tiny tubes yourself. Stand a celery stalk in colored water and the color climbs up.
A large oak tree can give off about 40,000 gallons of water into the air in one year! Coast redwoods in California also drink water straight from fog in dry summers.
Wow number
40,000 gallons of water: a large oak tree can give off about that much into the air in one year!
Myth or fact?
Plants drink mostly through their flowers. Myth. Roots take up the water from the soil.
Water is a little bit sticky. Fact. It sticks to itself and to other things. This helps it climb.
Think about it
Why do you think a plant wilts when the soil dries out?
Where in the world?
Coast redwoods, California, USA the tallest trees on Earth, which also drink water straight from fog in dry summers — 41.2132° N, 124.0046° W.
Where these facts come from
Every number on page 64, and who measured it
This page tells us how roots take in water and leaves let it out, and how much water an oak gives off.
Evapotranspiration and the Water Cycle — The U.S. Geological Survey, the government's Earth scientists
usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/evapotranspiration-and-water-cycle
We checked it on 31 October 2026
This page tells us about the tiny tubes in celery, with a colored-water experiment.
Rainbow Celery Experiment — PBS KIDS for Parents, from the public TV network
pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/rainbow-celery-experiment
We checked it on 31 October 2026
This page tells us that water is sticky and can climb up thin tubes.
Capillary Action and Water — The U.S. Geological Survey, the government's Earth scientists
usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/capillary-action-and-water
We checked it on 31 October 2026
This page tells us how redwoods lift water so high and drink from fog.
Coast Redwoods — Save the Redwoods League, a group that protects redwood forests
savetheredwoods.org/redwoods/coast-redwoods
We checked it on 31 October 2026
Has this changed?
How plants drink is not going to change.
The numbers vary from tree to tree and from year to year; 40,000 gallons is for a large oak.
Words from this page
- water vapor
- Water as an invisible gas in the air.
- stomata
- The tiny openings in a leaf that let water vapor out.
Try it!
Make rainbow celery.
1. Fill a clear glass halfway with water and add lots of food coloring. 2. Ask a grown-up to snap off a leafy celery stalk and stand it in the glass. 3. Check every few hours and the next day. (This celery is for looking, not eating.)
What happens: the color climbs up tiny tubes in the stalk and tints the leaves, just like water rising in a plant.
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