Wednesday, February 08, 2006

World's Oldest Living Bristlecone Pine


Over 5,000 years old, the world's oldest living bristlecone pine was cut down on Wheeler Peak in Nevada in the 1960s. The Bristlecone
Grove
in Great Basin National Park now probably hosts the world's oldest living bristlecone pine.

The Great Basin National Park was made a national monument on January 24, 1922 and a national park on October 27, 1986. From the sagebrush at its alluvial base to the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park includes streams, lakes, alpine plants, abundant wildlife, a variety of forest types including groves of ancient bristlecone pines, and numerous limestone caverns, including beautiful Lehman Caves.

Address: Great Basin National Park, 100 Great Basin National Park, Baker, Nevada 89311; 775-234-7331; Fax: 775-234-7269. Web: http://www.nps.gov/grba.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sorry, John. You are wrong about the age of the oldest bristlecone when it was cut down; and about the current oldest tree being in Great Basin National Park. I can understand that, because your comments did not have the benefit of my new book "The Bristlecone Book -- A Natural History of the World's Oldest Trees", which came out in September 2007.
However I loooove your 1001 Ways and have made good use of it over the years!