Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

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Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
Methuselah Walk USA Ca.jpg
The Methuselah Grove trail in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
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Location White Mountains, Inyo County, California, United States
Coordinates 37°23′8.4″N118°10′43.9″W / 37.385667°N 118.178861°W / 37.385667; -118.178861
Area43.75 sq mi (113.3 km2) [1] [2] :a
Max. elevation3,410 m (11,190 ft)
Min. elevation3,000 m (9,800 ft)
Administrator United States Forest Service

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California.

Contents

Geography

The forest is east of the Owens Valley, high on the eastern face of the White Mountains in the upper Fish Lake-Soda Spring Watershed, above the northernmost reach of the Mojave Desert into Great Basin ecotone. [3] The forest's mountain habitat is in the Central Basin and Range ecoregion (EPA) and Great Basin montane forests (One Earth). [4] The Patriarch Grove is the source of Cottonwood Creek, a designated Wild and Scenic River.

Ecology

Pinus longaeva - bristlecone pines in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California Bristlecone CA.JPG
Pinus longaeva – bristlecone pines in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California

The Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet (3,000–3,400 m) above sea level, in xeric alpine conditions, protected within the Inyo National Forest. [5] [6] Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) also grow in the forest.

Methuselah

The Methuselah Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is the location of the "Methuselah", a Great Basin bristlecone pine that is 4,856 years old. [7] It is considered to be the world's oldest known and confirmed living non-clonal organism. It was temporarily superseded by a 5,062 year old bristlecone pine discovered in 2010. In May 2017 however, Dr. Peter Brown removed this tree from his database of old trees because the tree and core sample could not be found. [8] "Methuselah" is not marked in the forest, to ensure added protection from vandals. [9]

Visiting

The Schulman and Patriarch groves are located about 30 mi (48 km) from Bishop, California. Bristlecone-pine-forest-janine-sprout.jpg
The Schulman and Patriarch groves are located about 30 mi (48 km) from Bishop, California.

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is generally open from mid-May through the end of November, weather permitting. [6]

Methuselah Grove trail

The Methuselah Grove trail starts from the visitor center at 9,846 feet (3,001 m) and makes a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) loop that includes the side valley of the Methuselah Grove where the oldest tree lives, a high section looking out eastward over Nevada's basin-and-range region, and side trails to old mining sites. Numbered natural-history markers are explained by a booklet.

Fire

On September 4, 2008, an arsonist set fire to the Schulman Grove Visitor Center and several bristlecone pines. The building and all the exhibits within were destroyed. Activities to rebuild the center began the next day and are now complete. [6] [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methuselah</span> Longest-lived figure mentioned in the Bible

Methuselah was a biblical patriarch and a figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He is claimed to have lived the longest life, dying at 969 years of age. According to the Book of Genesis, Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah. Elsewhere in the Bible, Methuselah is mentioned in genealogies in 1 Chronicles and the Gospel of Luke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristlecone pine</span> Three species of pine trees native to the Western United States

The term bristlecone pine covers three species of pine tree. All three species are long-lived and highly resilient to harsh weather and bad soils. One of the three species, Pinus longaeva, is among the longest-lived life forms on Earth. The oldest of this species is more than 4,800 years old, making it the oldest known individual of any species. Many scientists are curious as to why this tree is able to live so long. In one study, they discovered that Pinus longaeva has higher levels of telomerase activity, which further slows or prevents the attrition rate of telomeres. This potentially contributes to the extended life of the bristlecone pine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Basin</span> Large depression in western North America

The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. It is noted for both its arid climate and the basin and range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than 100 miles (160 km) away at the summit of Mount Whitney. The region spans several physiographic divisions, biomes, ecoregions, and deserts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Mountains (California)</span> Mountain range in California, United States

The White Mountains of California and Nevada are a triangular fault-block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately 60 mi (97 km) as a greatly elevated plateau about 20 mi (32 km) wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing south to north. The range's broad southern end is near the community of Big Pine, where Westgard Pass and Deep Springs Valley separate it from the Inyo Mountains. The narrow northern end is at Montgomery Pass, where U.S. Route 6 crosses. The Fish Lake Valley lies east of the range; the southeast part of the mountains are separated from the Silver Peak Range by block faulting across the Furnace Creek Fault Zone, forming a feeder valley to Fish Lake Valley. The range lies within the eastern section of the Inyo National Forest.

<i>Pinus longaeva</i> Long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the western United States

Pinus longaeva is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah. Methuselah is a bristlecone pine that is 4,856 years old and has been credited as the oldest known living non-clonal organism on Earth. To protect it, the exact location of this tree is kept secret. In 1987, the bristlecone pine was designated one of Nevada's state trees.

<i>Pinus aristata</i> North American species of pine tree

Pinus aristata, the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine or Colorado bristlecone pine is a long-lived species of bristlecone pine tree native to the United States. It is found in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and northern New Mexico, with an isolated population in the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona. It is found at very high altitudes, from 2,100 to 4,000 meters in cold, dry subalpine climate conditions, often at the tree line, although it also forms extensive closed-canopy stands at somewhat lower elevations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inyo National Forest</span> National forest in California and Nevada, United States

Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States; Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada; and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which protects the oldest living trees in the world. The forest, encompassing much of the Owens Valley, was established by Theodore Roosevelt as a way of sectioning off land to accommodate the Los Angeles Aqueduct project in 1907, making the Inyo National Forest one of the least wooded forests in the U.S. National Forest system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telescope Peak</span> Mountain in California, United States

Telescope Peak is the highest point within Death Valley National Park, in the U.S. state of California. It is also the highest point of the Panamint Range, and lies in Inyo County. From atop this desert mountain one can see for over one hundred miles in many directions, including west to Mount Whitney, and east to Charleston Peak. The mountain was named for the great distance visible from the summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prometheus (tree)</span> Oldest known non-clonal organism

Prometheus was the oldest known non-clonal organism, a Great Basin bristlecone pine tree growing near the tree line on Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada, United States. The tree, which was at least 4,862 years old and possibly more than 5,000, was cut down in 1964 by a graduate student and United States Forest Service personnel for research purposes. Those involved did not know of its world-record age before the cutting, and the circumstances and decision-making process remain controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snake Range</span> Mountain range in White Pine County, Nevada, United States

The Snake Range is a mountain range in White Pine County, Nevada, United States. The south-central portion of the range is included within Great Basin National Park, with most of the remainder included within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The range reaches a maximum elevation of 13,065 feet (3,982 m) at the summit of Wheeler Peak, the tallest independent mountain within Nevada and the second highest point within the state. The range also contains four of the five highest mountain peaks in Nevada, including all peaks greater than 12,000 feet (3,658 m) except for Boundary Peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methuselah (pine tree)</span> Bristlecone pine tree in the White Mountains, California

Methuselah is a 4,856-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine tree growing high in the White Mountains of Inyo County in eastern California. It is recognized as the non-clonal tree with the greatest confirmed age in the world. The tree's name refers to the biblical patriarch Methuselah, who is said to have reached 969 years of age before his death, thus becoming synonymous with longevity or old age in many European languages including English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Currant Mountain Wilderness</span> Protected area in Nevada, United States

The Currant Mountain Wilderness is a 47,357-acre (19,165 ha) wilderness area centered on Currant Mountain in the White Pine Range of Nye County and White Pine County, in the eastern section of the state of Nevada in the western United States.

Donald Rusk Currey was an American professor of geography. While known in academia for his extensive research and exploration of relics of the ancient Lake Bonneville in the eastern Great Basin, he was best known to the public for his controversial felling of Prometheus, the oldest living non-clonal organism known at the time, while a graduate student in 1964.

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The White Pine Range Wilderness is a 40,013-acre (16,193 ha) wilderness area in southwestern White Pine County, in the U.S. state of Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negligible senescence</span> Organisms that do not exhibit evidence of biological aging

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Great Basin may refer to:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methuselah (sequoia tree)</span> Giant sequoia tree in the Sierra Nevada, eastern California

The Methuselah Tree is a giant sequoia located in Mountain Home State Forest, a sequoia grove located in Sequoia National Forest in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California. It is the 28th largest giant sequoia in the world, and could be considered the 27th largest depending on how badly Ishi Giant atrophied during the Rough Fire in 2015.

References

  1. Miller, Leonard. "The Ancient Bristlecone Pine". The Bristlecone site. Archived from the original on September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  2. "Discovery". Archived from the original on August 28, 2010.
  3. Bryce, S. A.; et al. "Ecoregions of Nevada" (poster). Reston, Virginia: USGS. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  4. Noss, Reed. "Great Basin Montane Forests". One Earth. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  5. Inyo N.F.-Bristlecone Forest Archived July 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . accessed August 30, 2010
  6. 1 2 3 NFS: Bristlecone Natural History Archived July 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . accessed August 30, 2010
  7. "Pinus longaeva". Gymnosperm Database. March 15, 2007. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  8. "Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research OldList". Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  9. SCHLOSSBERG, TATIANA (April 22, 2016). "Celebrate Earth Day With a 4,800-Year-Old Tree (If You Can Find It)". The New York Times. NY Times. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  10. "Fire claims Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest visitor center". Los Angeles Times . September 6, 2008. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008.
  11. Woods, Tom (April 10, 2009). "Arson Charges for Schulman Visitor Center Fire". Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2012.