On the windward (western) slopes of the Sierra Nevada at elevations between 4,000 and 8,000 feet, the tall western conifers are joined by the magnificent giant sequoia [Sequoia gigantea]. The congener of this sequoia, the redwood [S. sempervirens] grows along the northern California coast. Their closest relative is the Dawn Redwood, a deciduous conifer of the genus Metasequoia from China.