Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
| Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest | |
| Protected Area | |
|
The Methuselah Grove trail in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Inyo National Forest[1] |
| Parts | Methuselah Grove Sherman Memorial Grove |
| Location | White Mountains, Inyo County, California |
| - coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Highest point | |
| - elevation | 3,410 m (11,188 ft) |
| Lowest point | |
| - elevation | 3,000 m (9,843 ft) |
| Area | 43.75 sq mi (113 km2) [2]:a |
| Biome | Central Basin and Range ecoregion |
| Plant | Pinus longaeva – Great Basin Bristlecone Pine |
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern 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.[3][4] Foxtail Pine (Pinus balfouriana) also grow in the forest.
Contents
Methuselah
The Methuselah Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is the location of the "Methuselah", a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine that is Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. years old.[5] For many years, it was the world's oldest known living non-clonal organism, until superseded by the discovery in 2013 of another bristlecone pine in the same area with an age of Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. years (germination in 3051 BC).[6] "Methuselah" is not marked in the forest, to ensure added protection from vandals.
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.[7] The forest's mountain habitat is in the Central Basin and Range ecoregion (EPA) and Taiga and Boreal forest ecoregion (WWF). The Patriarch Grove is the source of Cottonwood Creek, a designated Wild and Scenic River.
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.[4][8][9]
The Methuselah Grove trail
The methuselah grove trail starts from the visitor center at 9,846 feet and makes a 4.5-mile 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.
Visiting
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is generally open from mid-May through the end of November, weather permitting.[4]
- Schulman Grove and Schulman Grove Visitor Center – daily interpretive talks and natural history lectures mid-June through Labor Day, and hiking trails.
- Patriarch Grove – home of the world's largest bristlecone pine, the Patriarch Tree, and a self-guided nature trail.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. a. Discovery
- ↑ Inyo N.F.-Bristlecone Forest . accessed 8/30/2010
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 NFS: Bristlecone Natural History . accessed 8/30/2010
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. NOTE: The poster depicts the California northern point of the Mojave Basin & Range ecoregion at pixels 453 horizontal & 1151 vertical (interpolates to 37.28N,117.71W in the Last Chance Range, north of Sulfur Rd).
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (California). |
External links
- www.fs.usda.gov – Inyo National Forest official Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest site
- www.fs.usda.gov – Inyo National Forest: The Natural History of the Bristlecone Pines
- Pages with broken file links
- Geobox usage tracking for protected area type
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Forests of California
- Inyo National Forest
- Taiga and boreal forests in the United States
- Protected areas of Inyo County, California
- Protected areas of the Great Basin
- Plant communities of California
- Trees of the Southwestern United States
- Trees of the Great Basin
- History of California
- Landmarks in California
