Grain Patterns of Earth's Oldest Living Organisms

            What you're looking at is over 4000 years old......and, it's still alive!! The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine ranks as the oldest tree in the world. The ancient tree has survived more than 40 centuries, exceeding the age of the oldest Giant Sequoia by 1500 years.  The longest-living members of the bristlecone species exist in harsh conditions in the upper reaches of California’s White Mountains. With less than twelve inches of annual precipitation and a nutrient-poor soil called dolomite, the rocky terrain looks more like a lifeless Martian plain than home to earth’s oldest living organisms.

Crouching against the fierce winds in this area of the eastern Sierra Nevada, the pines resemble huge bonsai.  Their elaborately sculpted limbs are often stripped of bark and so tortured by the elements that they sometimes seem more dead than alive.  Some of the bristlecone pines that have been dead for centuries continue to lay undecayed on the ground.  Many of the trees are shrub-shaped, and few are taller than 40 feet. On most, only a thin sliver of bark runs along the trunk, showing finely etched grain patterns. So stressed are the trees that some of the living can be distinguished from the dead only by their verticality.

Taken in: United States / California (show map)

Taken on: June 17, 2008

Tags:

pattern

pine

Sierra Nevada

trees

nature

Great Basin

ancient

dolomite

organism

oldest

bristlecone pine

bonsai

wood

old

grain « less

Sets appears in: • Trees • Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

Camera: Nikon D70, f/6.3, 1/250 sec, 500mm (=750mm), ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D70
Lens:	200.0-500.0 mm f/5.0-6.0
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	500mm (35mm equivalent: 750mm)
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Contrast:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	picnik.com
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