Posted on 02/10/2005 6:58:18 AM PST by presidio9
- A giant California sequoia considered to be the second biggest tree on earth is fighting for its life after being hit by a succession of snow storms and fires, a park ranger said.
The huge Washington Tree in northern California's Sequoia National Park, which was 115 meters (254 feet) high and measures 45.9 meters (101 feet) in circumference, could be approaching the end of its life of more than 2,000 years.
"It suffered from snow fall and more wind than normal this winter and that has weakened some sections of the tree," ranger Alexandra Picavet told AFP. "It lost a big section off the top," she added.
The winter storms have whittled the giant tree down to a height of just 52.2 meters (115 feet), she said, adding that it however retained its title of the world's second biggest tree in terms of volume.
The green giant, which still boasts a little foliage, was also hit by a wildfire in 2003, one of many over the span of its long life which have helped hollow out the tree, slowly weakening its structure.
The tree's hollow interior and sheared-off top made it more vulnerable to damage from this year's heavy snowfall.
Scientists are expected to make a full evaluation of the living landmark's condition in the spring when the snow in the area melts, Picavet said.
But she said that while the tree was suffering the ravages of nature, it could still live for hundreds of years.
"These trees are very old - they live so much longer than we do. Maybe it will live another 300 years," she said, stressing that while the possible death of the sequoia was seen by many as a tragedy, it was part of life.
"It's a completely natural process," she said. "The most common cause of death for giant sequoias is simply falling over."
The Sequoia National Park, north of San Francisco, is one of California's top tourist attractions, drawing visitors from across the world to see the oversized trees.
Nothing lives forever.
Bush's fault.
LOL beat me to it!
Al Gore is maintaining a vigil.............
I'm sure this has something to do with not signing Kyoto.
Surely something that the evil white anglo-saxon male has done is the cause of this travesty!
So9
Redwood deck?
I hate to picky, but no it's not...
Shame about the tree though. The Giant Sequoias are truly amazing to see.
Let's cut it down! The Left is pro-euthanasia, why doesn't it apply here?
Quick! Get Al Gore to give it mouth to mouth.
Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or, they could send it up to San Francisco, so they won't have to charge 17 cents per bag in the grocery stores.
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