[AP]Second oldest tree in the world about to die

Ottomaton · Feb 8, 2005

Old age threatens sequoia
The Associated Press

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK — Old age has gotten the best of the second-biggest tree in the world.

The giant sequoia known as the Washington Tree may not live much longer after suffering major damage in recent weeks from heavy snow and strong winds, according to officials at Sequoia National Park.

“It’s just a shame,” said Mary Anne Carlton, a ranger at the Giant Forest Museum. The 32-year Park Service veteran has snowshoed to the Washington Tree several times since the collapse.

“But it’s still got some greenery. It’s still living and hanging on,” she said.

The tree once stood more than 254 feet tall with a base circumference slightly more than 101 feet, according to the National Park Service.

But the ancient giant lost its crown during a forest fire about 16 months ago. With its latest injuries, the tree has been reduced to a height of 115 feet, and has only a few sparse branches of foliage remaining.

The tree’s massive width puts it in second place behind the General Sherman tree, which is also in Sequoia National Park and ahead of the General Grant Tree in neighboring Kings Canyon National Park.

It’s not known exactly how old the Washington Tree is, but studies based on partial samples of the tree’s layers suggest it’s probably between 2,500 and 3,200 years old.
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To me, this is really sad. Between the ages of about 9 and 12 I spent summers traveling around the US with my grandparents, mostly to national parks, and these dark, mysterious forests are one of the strongest memories I have. The Sequoia forests in California are about the most beautiful places in the world. In my fantasy world, I'd either live in one of those Sequoia forests, on one of the windy, rocky shores of Oregon, or someplace in the southern Canadian Rockies.

I urge anybody to visit these forests that has an opportunity to do so.

gunn · Feb 8, 2005

It was the second "biggest" tree, not second "oldest". To get a perspective look at the lady standing on the right at the base of the Washington Tree.

giddyup · Feb 8, 2005

That is just an incredible site-- the size of that tree....

Ottomaton · Feb 8, 2005

he... he...

oops.

I'm a moron.

SwoLy-D · Feb 8, 2005

Mexico still has this: http://www.delange.org/Tule/Tule.htm (with kids around it: http://www.nyu.edu/projects/julian/tulepix.html)

Supermac34 · Feb 8, 2005

I want a dining room table made out of wood from that thing when it does die.

SwoLy-D · Feb 8, 2005

I will get a WOODY.

The Real Shady · Feb 8, 2005

RIP

++

R0ckets03 · Feb 8, 2005

Thats so sad dude.

NJRocket · Feb 8, 2005

the world needs more firewood too you know

Austin70 · Feb 8, 2005

Wood you guys leaf it alone, and not branch this thread into something else.

keeley · Feb 8, 2005

I wonder if DoD will come in here and tell us his story about planting this tree, ahahahhaha!!

rockHEAD · Feb 8, 2005

The Ents are going to be pissed!

plcmts17 · Feb 8, 2005

Imagine if tiny Elvis was next to that tree, that would be huuuuge man.

pgabriel · Feb 8, 2005

"Now make like a tree, and go"

underoverup · Feb 8, 2005

Someone actually cut down the oldest living tree on earth to find out its exact age.

Great Basin bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva), among the oldest trees in the world, occur near treeline in three groves in Great Basin National Park. These trees are remarkable for their great age and their ability to survive adverse growing conditions.

A 4,600-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California is the oldest known living tree. A bristlecone pine near Wheeler Peak was dated to be more than 4,900 years old in 1964. Unfortunately, before the area became a national park, the tree was cut down and sectioned to get an accurate reading of its growth rings.

Not all bristlecones live that long. Ironically, the oldest trees are the ones growing near treeline where survival is most difficult. Adversity, it appears, promotes long life. These ancient trees grow slowly, one branch at a time. Even their needles can live up to 40 years. Often, a tree will appear nearly dead, with only a thin strip of living tissue clinging to a gnarled, naked trunk. Ordinary trees would decay under those conditions, but slow growing bristlecone wood has a high resin content, preventing rot. Instead, the wood actually erodes, like stone, from wind and ice crystals.
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Great Basin National Park

Uprising · Feb 8, 2005

Originally posted by rockHEAD
The Ents are going to be pissed!
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I was thinking something along those lines.....

Dr of Dunk · Feb 8, 2005

"Second oldest tree in the world about to die" for a title and not a single Tree Rollins joke yet... wow.

Davidoff · Feb 8, 2005

Are these the things that made The Lord of the Rings so bad??

Rocket River · Feb 8, 2005

Originally posted by underoverup
Someone actually cut down the oldest living tree on earth to find out its exact age.

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scientist sheesh

Rocket River

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