Big Tree (Washington)

Trout Lake Big Tree

The Big Tree (also known as the Trout Lake Big Tree) was a massive Ponderosa pine tree in old growth pine and fir forest in southern Washington state,[1] at the southern base of Mount Adams. It is managed by the Mount Adams Ranger District of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The tree is 202 feet (62 m) tall[2][3] with a diameter of 7 feet (210 cm),[4] and was one of the largest known ponderosa pine trees in the world.[1] It had been stressed by attacks from mountain pine beetles[4] and its death in 2015 was confirmed the following year.[5]

Accessibility

From the small farming community of Trout Lake, the Big Tree Interpretive Site can be accessed via Forest Road 80 and 8020. The interpretive site offers the opportunity to view or picnic at the base of the ponderosa pine tree.[4]

Age

The age of this tree is unknown, in part because it hasn't been measured, and also because of rot in its center sections.[5]

In any event, it is far removed from the upper tiers of oldest trees in the western United States[6]

Despite having immense tracts of old growth conifers, the State of Washington is one of two states that lacks a state coordinator to find, track and keep current records on important trees.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Big Tree Loop". Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Richard, Terry (September 30, 2011). "Big ponderosa pine near Mount Adams lives up to its name: Big Tree (video)". The Oregonian. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Gifford Pinchot National Forest (N.F.), Land and Resource(s) Management Plan (LRMP): Environmental Impact Statement. Gifford Pinchot National Forest. p. 490. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Big Tree Interpretive Site". Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 Pesanti, Dameon (November 25, 2016). "One of the oldest, biggest pines in the Pacific Northwest is dead". The Columbian, Seattle Times. Retrieved November 25, 2016. A mammoth conifer, the Big Tree contained about 22,000 board feet of lumber — enough wood to frame almost one and a half 2,400-square-foot homes. Although it was one of the oldest and tallest trees of its kind, and for decades the centerpiece of an interpretive site for travelers headed to Mount Adams, the Big Tree died with little fanfare last year. "It’s probably well over 500 years, gauging by the size," he said.
  6. ↑ See "The Old Tree List". Fort Collins, Colorado: Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research, a non-profit research organization. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ Linnea, Ann; Haupt, Lyanda Lynn (April 30, 2010). Keepers of the Trees: A Guide to Re-Greening North America. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781616080075. Retrieved November 26, 2016.

Further reading

External links

Coordinates: 46°03′32″N 121°31′47″W / 46.0588°N 121.5296°W / 46.0588; -121.5296


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