The Great Basin Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in The White Mountains of California/Nevada have the world’s oldest living non-clonal organisms, ancient bristlecone pine trees. Non-clonal means these trees are not genetic duplicates of a parent organism, but are in fact, original organisms.
The oldest known tree in the basin is 5,065 years old and was germinated in 3051 BC. This tree started growing before the first pyramid was built-in Egypt.
Another, Methuselah, is 4,848 years old.
The White Mountains run parallel to the Sierras in the west and Death Valley in the east.
White Mountain is a sister peak to Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental US. When you hike here you look to your left at almost eye level with Mt. Whitney, and to your right at the lowest non-submerged place in North America, Death Valley.
In the dolomite covered White Mountains these ancient organisms continue to thrive in white powdery soil that was once an ancient sea bed.
When you touch the non-bark covered cambium layer of these ancient ones, it is like touching living stone. Something you have never felt before.
The bristlecones survive possibly because they live in an isolated hostile location, which makes them strong, and creates the almost impervious density of their stone-like structure.
To say that I was blown away by being here is a huge understatement.
I am hoping the lack of protection afforded the ancient ones is purposeful. They are hard to get to, even harder to hike to, and not very many people know about them. Plus, for much of the year, due to winter snow, they are inaccessible.
There is nothing here but these living fossils.
I never knew about these trees, even though I have driven near them all my life to go skiing, and now I can’t even imagine the world without them.
Cheers to you from the ancient ones~
http://www.arizona.edu/keepers-prometheus-worlds-oldest-tree
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_trees
http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=3441
What an interesting learning experience. I love trees and am always on the hunt for intriguing ones. Thank you for sharing your tree safari. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. ❤
You are a joy to travel with Nancy & cheers to you my friend~
Absolutely gorgeous photos 🙂
Awww, honored & humbled. Thank you Jacquiline & cheers to you~
My pleasure 🙂
❤ ❤
Just amazing, these trees. Love the intricacy of the twisting roots. But be careful hiking around there.
Their root system is just incredible isn’t it! So much is visible above ground.
The woods are fantastic, I love them all.
Very pleased that you do Bob. I was very impressed with your Kingfisher photo today!
Wow, Cindy. Thanks so much for sharing. I had not known these wondrous trees’ story till now. Breathtaking.
I didn’t know either and was pretty floored by the privelege of meeting them! So glad you feel as I do~ 🌳
Wonderful, Cindy. I love this kind of trees 🙂
WP put your comment in spam. I am so sorry I almost missed it! I am so pleased you like the ancient ones my friend~
You’re a happy case, Cindy. Other friends didn’t get my comments 😦
We all need to check spam now for our friend’s comments~
Fantastic beautiful pictures Ms. Cindy, thank you for posting them for us others to get to see.
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Ms. Cindy has posted some very beautiful scenery pictures here on here on her site, please spend a few moments and take a look, I believe that most of you will agree with me about them being beautiful.
Thank you more for being such a thoughtful friend and for supporting these ancient trees! 🌳🌳🌳
Absolutely amazing. They’re so beautiful. And probably still only exist because they are inaccessible. They’re very humbling when you think of how they’ve survived. Thanks for sharing!
We live in a world filled with wonder! Thank you dear Linda and Happy Sunday~ 🌳
Great photographs and great trees… So beautiful. Thank you, Love, nia
Thank you more for caring about the 🌳🌳🌳 Nia & cheers to you!
What spectacular trees! Great photos, must have been quite and experience.
It was 🌳🌳🌳mendous! Happy Sunday my friend~
Wow, I had no idea about them either and feel happy that they are FAR from the madding crowds. I will never see them, I am not a hiker but like you it feels comforting to know they exist and are alive. And that interesting correlation etween hardship and longevity. A very inspiring and informative post – thank you… c
Yes, fascinating isn’t it. They survive possibly because the hostility of their environment makes them impervious and strong. If we plant them in our garden they will die of comfort ie., root rot. It’s interesting to think about the analogy with humans. We die sometimes of over comfort too, ie., couch potato life styles, over eating of high caloric “comfort” foods, over imbibing etoh, exposure to emf’s and chemical by products etc etc, all designed to make us more comfortable.
Beautiful photos of venerable trees, Cindy. Glad you got to see them!
I wonder why it took me so long. Maybe I needed to be older to fully appreciate them~
This was a touching tribute to the origins of an ancient “tribe” of trees, Cindy. I absolutely loved the history and scientific details~ you could tell they moved you very much! xo hugs!
Thank you for understanding so perfectly as you always do my dear friend Robin and be well~ 🌳
In the fourth picture from the top, the trees look like they are kneeling. These are exquisite living specimens. How precious to visit with them and experience their energy.
Yes! It is an amazing experience and now my brother is going to meet them too! 🌳🌳
Fascinating post, Cindy. I had no idea such “living fossils” existed in that part of the U.S.A. Amazing.
We both didn’t know! It is pretty amazing to visit them. Have a wonderful week Patti!
Wonderful Cindy. Nature is inspiring and these trees are amazing. Thanks. 🙂
And WP put your comment in spam! I am so happy I found it! Thanks so much my friend and I apologize for WP’s glitch~
I’m glad you saved me from spam! Thanks. 🙂
You, in no way, belong in spam my friend. So frustrating……
Those are truly strange trees. At first, we thought that they were previously hit by lightning or something, which explains the blackened bark. Only when we read the entire post did we realize that the methuselahs were really intact.
We have a similar grove like that, consisting of trees that died because they are near a natural solfatara; they were suffocated by the sulfur.
That is remarkable. I have seen trees that died of sulfur in Yellowstone. I would love to see yours. They make haunting imagery~
My goodness, Cindy. They look other-worldly!
This is the exact term my husband used to describe them!
¡Qué árboles tan impresionantes! Seguramente se han conservado gracias a estar en una zona inaccesible. Si fuese una zona de fácil acceso el turismo se los habría tragado. Mejor que sigan aislados y así seguirán siendo unos supervivientes. Abrazos Cindy, y sigue disfrutando de estas maravillas ❤
Estoy de acuerdo contigo! Ellos son magnificas. Me alegro de que estan en un lugar aislado tambien. Espero que viven en y en! Un abrazo a mi querida amiga~ ❤
I am always in awe of what you see through your camera lens – thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures of God’s Gifts.
You are a dear friend, dear friend~ ❤ ❤
Thank you for sharing these ancient treasures, Cindy! I too had never heard of them…and your photos are spectacular, as always. 🙂
Awww, you a very thoughtful my friend. So happy you like them as I do. Cheers & have a great week!
Cindy, this was a great post. I got so excited I had to see exactly where these trees were and was surprised to find it was at Big Basin National Park. I had seen the cut off to this park off the 15 freeway but didn’t really know what it was all about. As a result of your post I have been exploring it online and my husband and I are talking about when we can get out there. Thanks again, Jan
My brother is going now too! I think it is important for conservation minded people to visit these trees. Once you experience them, you will be emotionally invested in protecting them. There are other bristlecone pine forests. The oldest trees are not in the Natonal Park (go figure). The Methusula Grove is in the White Mountains in California. We accessed The Grove from off of the 395 near Big Pine California. Google Ancient Bristlecone Forest and you will find information on this grove and how to reach it. I do hope you go and post about your experience of this sacred place~
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Vielen danke~
I can’t believe the beauty of the twisting bark.
Old Age = Beauty. It is an equation we are not used too~
So true, I guess it requires different outlooks on life!
Where’s his smile ??? 🙂
He is 5000 years old! He doesn’t have to smile! 🙂 Hugs to you cuz!
What amazing trees. Even though we don’t understand it, in our short lives, they live in a way quite different from us. Their thoughts would be worth knowing, with such long lives. Perhaps we wouldn’t be capable of using advice they gave us. Their best protection is that no clever person has thought of a use for them.
And so far they have not inconvenienced humans by growing somewhere we want to develop, or having wood we want to harvest. I just heard the entire Washington state wolf pack is going to be shot for eating cows. God forbid they eat cows. We want to eat these cows. Most humans don’t change, unfortunately.
Oh, that is sad about the wolves. I have some sympathies for ranchers because they operate on a margin. So many people take a slice of the beef profit. Any loss of stock eats up the margin that they keep as profit. I was staying in a B&B in Scotland once, and the owner’s cow died. Fell in a stream, broke a leg and drown. She was devastated. Wept and howled. I feel like weeping and howling for the wolves, too, though. It’s a hard old world.
It is indeed.
Super photos
I am honored~
Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. I also love the trees but have never met one of these. I love these kinds of posts where I learn a little bit about something.
I love bloggers for this same reason! I always see, learn, or read something new and wonderful from bloggers. When you think about this for awhile you realize this doesn’t happen in any other published media forum, which is why I love bloggers and blogging! ❤
Bonjour CINDY super ces photos dont les arbres peuvent avoir beaucoup de formes
je passe comme promis sur ton joli blog
Je te dépose un rayon de lumière
tendresse et bonheur
Ton blog j’aime le feuilleté lire tes écris , tes poèmes tes montages ou autres toujours un énorme plaisir de découvrir tes nouveautés
Passe une très belle journée que ce soit en famille enfants ou entre amis
Bisous amitié
Bernard
Merci beaucoup mon ami Bernard! Bisous amitie~
Thank you for taking us there, Cindy! So moving to see these majestic trees.
Good to know they are in a isolated place.
I am responding to you Amy even though all my comments are disappearing! Arghhhhh…… and thank you~
All my comments are erasing!!! So sorry Amy~
Oh no… How that happened? Have you contacted WP support?
My response will not post! ):
I see…
My responses are erasing! Sorry!
Are those trees the oldest living things on earth? Wonderful in their age.
They are. Amazing aren’t they!
They are. Hope I look that good at that age! Come to think about it, I am getting to look that way now. Knock on wood I am in good health.
Coucou Mon AMIE CINDY
Je viens te chanter la ballade des bisous
je viens faire une ballade des bisous
Pour te montrer que je ne t’oublie pas
1)Mon premier sera un bisou tout rond
Juste sur le front
2)Mon deuxième sera un bisou tous doux
Sur les deux joues
3)Mon troisième sera bisou délicieux
Sur tes deux yeux
4)Mon quatrième sera un bisou fripon
Sur ton menton
5)Rien de plus beau que de recevoir quelques bisous
Bisousbisous
Je pense que tu auras appréciée (é)
J’aime plaisanter ne soit pas vexée (é)
Pour que ta SOIREE soit plus que reposante
Bernard
-mon ami Berdnard~
These trees are amazing, thank you for sharing them! 🙂
Thank you more for appreciating them!
This is the most amazing place☺I think that tree is fantastic!
The 🌳🌳🌳 and I thank you!
Don’t know how I missed this one, but the trees, desolate as they look, are magnificent ! 🙂
They are just that, truly magnificent! ❤