Wednesday, April 14, 2010

104 (D-27) Half Dome / Sequoias

104 (D-27) This is the Half Dome in Yosemite, not La Dent de Crolles near Grenoble, France!
And below, the giant Sequoias in Yosemite.

Perhaps the most remarkable sequoia in Yosemite (in the Mariposa Grove) is "The Grizzly Giant". This enormous tree is believed to be the oldest known sequoia tree. Some sources say 1800 years old; others say 2700 years old; others say 3800 years old...! No accurate method has yet been found of measuring the age of large trees. Ever since the noted scientist, David Starr Jordan, estimated the age of the Grizzly Giant at 8,000 to 10,000 years (!), people continue to speculate its age. The sequoias are among the oldest known organisms on earth; only the venerable bristlecone pines are older. (If you are curious see The Methuselah Tree at wikipedia. How old do scientists believe that bristlecone pine tree to be?! It is the oldest living non-clonal organism on earth!)
FYI: 2008 information about Norway spruce trees in Sweden:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1190625120080411
More photos of sequoias at
http://www.shannontech.com/ParkVision/Yosemite/Yosemite11.html

One last quote from John Muir: "When one tugs at a single thing in Nature, he finds it is attached to the rest of the world."

Jane
______________________
VOCABULARY:
tugs = pulls on

ALL THINGS ARE CONNECTED!!!

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