These are some of the world's largest trees that only grow on western slopes of mountain range running through California and Nevada.Photographer Michael Nichols spent two weeks capturing images of the 'President' - the world's second-biggest tree which is at least 3,200 years old in Sequoia National Park, deep in the southern region.

Sequoias only grow on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range which runs 400 miles through Nevada and California. Giant sequoias can reach 247-feet - the height of a 20-storey building.

The following is an excerpt from National Geographic magazine: 'It’s not quite the largest tree on Earth. It’s the second largest '.

Scientist Steve Sillett of Humboldt State University and his colleagues has confirmed that the President ranks number two among all big trees.Although its trunk isn’t quite so bulky. The tree holds nearly two billion leaves.

Their giant size allows them to survive disasters which would wipe out many of their woodland competitors - they are unaffected by storms, resistant to forest fire and can live even after being struck by lightning.