Goodbye Old Friend

[tubemonkey]

Losing a volcano is more tragic than losing a tree. The landscape is ruined for millennia.

[cromag]

Mt. St. Helens, right? I remember when that blew, and the run-up just before.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by cromag

Mt. St. Helens, right? I remember when that blew, and the run-up just before.

Yep - I ran outside to watch as it erupted. We could see the eruption column soar into the atmosphere. Luckily, we didn't get much ash here in the Puget Sound region. From here, we can't see the mountain. But for those that can, it has to be quite jarring to see a prominent landmark get disfigured like that.

I hope Mt Rainier doesn't blow for hundreds of years. That one is in our backyard and the skyline would be ruined forever if it did.

[tubemonkey]

The oldest tree in the world is a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine in the White Mountains of California. It's 5,066 years old. Its exact location is kept secret.

Pinus longaeva (commonly referred to as the Great Basin bristlecone pine, intermountain bristlecone pine, or western bristlecone pine) is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah. One member of this species, at 5066 years old, is the oldest known living non-clonal organism on Earth. In 1987, the bristlecone pine was designated one of Nevada's state trees.

The Methuselah Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is the location of the "Methuselah", a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine that is 4,848 years old. For many years, it was the world's oldest known living non-clonal organism, until superseded by the discovery in 2013 of another bristlecone pine in the same area with an age of 5,066 years (germination in 3051 BC). "Methuselah" is not marked in the forest, to ensure added protection from vandals.

This is what was happening around the world when it was born:

• c. 3000 BC: Early agriculture in North Africa
• c. 3000 BC: Neolithic period ends
• c. 3000 BC: Djer, third pharaoh of united Egypt, starts to reign
• c. 3000 BC: Troy is founded
• c. 3000 BC: Stonehenge begins to be built
• c. 3000 BC: Cycladic civilization in the Aegean Sea starts
• c. 3000 BC: Minoan civilization starts
• c. 3000 BC: Norte Chico civilization in Northern Peru starts
• c. 3000 BC: Aegean Bronze Age starts
• c. 3000 BC: Middle Jōmon period starts in Japan

A specimen in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California

As I mentioned earlier, some of the redwoods in CA are around 2000 years old. I remember Mt. St. Helens too. At least 50 people died in that, including the old curmudgeon Harry R. Truman. Really devastating between blast, the pyroclastic flows, and the lahars. There is still a lot of physical damage to be seen for miles around.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The oldest tree in the world is a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine in the White Mountains of California. It's 5,066 years old. Its exact location is kept secret.

A specimen in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California

I think that I may never see
A poem as lovely as a ...


Nevermind.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by cromag

I think that I may never see
A poem as lovely as a ...


Nevermind.

Takes your breath away, eh?