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Nature

How tall is a saguaro cactus?

The largest recorded saguaro cactus is about 12 m (39 ft) tall.

What is measured: mature plant, maximum height

Saguaro cactus (12 m) drawn to scale beside a city bus (12 m) and the Statue of Liberty (93 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Saguaro cactus (12 m), City bus (12 m) and Statue of Liberty (93 m).

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How big is that, really?

  • About the length of a city bus
  • About 6× as tall as a doorway
  • About 50% of the length of a tennis court
  • About 2× the length of a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 7.1× as tall as an adult person

Learn

Facts about Saguaro cactus

Saguaros usually grow their first arm only after reaching roughly 50 to 70 years of age.

Source: National Park Service, “Saguaro Cactus”; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, “Saguaro”

Nature

NameSizeCompared with Saguaro cactus
Durdle Door10 m (33 ft)0.83×
Dragon blood tree10 m (33 ft)0.83×
Huka Falls11 m (36 ft)0.92×
Giant’s Causeway basalt column12 m (39 ft)same size
Naica giant crystal12 m (39 ft)same size
Saguaro cactus12 m (39 ft)this page
Joshua tree12 m (39 ft)same size
Delicate Arch14 m (46 ft)1.2×
Wave Rock15 m (49 ft)1.3×
Fingal’s Cave16 m (52 ft)1.3×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Saguaro cactus or Durdle Door?

Topics

More sizes like this