Posted on 01/09/2017 12:19:10 PM PST by nickcarraway
A powerful winter storm in California has brought down an ancient tree, carved into a living tunnel more than a century ago.
The "Pioneer Cabin Tree," a sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, saw horses and cars pass through it over the years. More recently, only hikers were allowed to walk through the massive tree.
Over the weekend, a powerful winter storm slammed into California and Nevada, prompting flooding and mudslides in some regions. The Associated Press reports it might be the biggest storm to hit the region in more than a decade.
On Sunday, a volunteer at the state park reported that Pioneer Cabin had not survived.
"The storm was just too much for it," the Calaveras Big Tree Association wrote on Facebook.
It's unclear exactly how old the tree was, but The Los Angeles Times reports that the trees in the state park are estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. Sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years.
The iconic tree was one of just a few tunneled-through sequoias in California. The most famous was the Wawona Tree, in Yosemite National Park; it fell during a winter storm in 1969 at an estimated age of 2,100 years. The other remaining sequoia tunnels are dead or consist of logs on their side, the Forest Service says.
How Is A 1,600-Year-Old Tree Weathering California's Drought? SCIENCE How Is A 1,600-Year-Old Tree Weathering California's Drought? However, there are still three coastal redwoods (taller and more slender than sequoias) with tunnels cut through them. They're all operated by private companies, the Forest Service says, and still allow cars to drive through — one appeared in a recent Geico ad.
SFGate.com spoke to Jim Allday, the volunteer who reported Pioneer Cabin's demise. He told the website that the tree "shattered" when it hit the ground on Sunday afternoon, and that people had walked through it as recently as that morning.
Local flooding might have been the reason the tree fell, SFGate reports:
" 'When I went out there [Sunday afternoon], the trail was literally a river, the trail is washed out,' Allday said. 'I could see the tree on the ground, it looked like it was laying in a pond or lake with a river running through it.' "
"The tree had been among the most popular features of the state park since the late 1800s. The tunnel had graffiti dating to the 1800s, when visitors were encouraged to etch their names into the bark.
"Joan Allday, wife of Jim Allday and also a volunteer at the park, said the tree had been weakening and leaning severely to one side for several years. " 'It was barely alive, there was one branch alive at the top,' she said. 'But it was very brittle and starting to lift.' "
Tunnel trees were created in the 19th century to promote parks and inspire tourism. But cutting a tunnel through a living sequoia, of course, damages the tree.
"Tunnel trees had their time and place in the early history of our national parks," the National Park Service has written. "But today sequoias which are standing healthy and whole are worth far more."
We may have watch another smaller car drive through the tree or it could have been us. My brother might have a clearer memory.
Well, I think it’s a big deal! :-D
I wonder if it made a sound?
2016 almost got this tree, but not quite.
True. When Sequoia trees are felled, the fallers make up a thick bed of limbs and branches for the tree to fall on. This is to try and limit the log from shattering on impact.
Based on large trees that have fallen down on my property, very definitely.
That question you refer to is subjective and revolves around witnessing an event. The event proceeds - in all its dimensions - whether or not there is a anyone to witness it. Probably a good case for claiming objective events are, in fact, real. Which, in turn, brings up the famous Lincoln quote on the related subject of false claims being true simply because a lot of people say they are.
There is a Live Oak in Biloxi that has been aged to 2000 years. I didn’t know oaks could live that long.
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