Now That's a Tree

At least 1,500 years old, a 300-foot titan in California's Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park has the most complex crown scientists have mapped. This photo, taken by Michael Nichols, is a mosaic composed of 84 images.

The cover story for this month's National Geographic is about trees, not just any old trees but the ancient and majestic super trees, Redwoods. It's definitely worth a read or at the very least a look through the photos.

From National Geographic...

Fording a vein of emerald water known as the South Fork of the Eel, they climbed the far bank and entered the translucent shade of the most magnificent grove they'd seen yet. Redwoods the size of Saturn rockets sprouted from the ground like giant beanstalks, their butts blackened by fire. Some bore thick, ropy bark that spiraled sky­ward in candy-cane swirls. Others had huge cav­ities known as goose pens—after the use early pio­neers put them to—big enough to hold 20 people.

Treetops the size of VW buses lay half-buried among the sorrel and sword ferns, where they'd plummeted from 30 stories up—the casualties of titanic wars with the wind, which even now coursed through the tops with panpipe-like creaks and groans. It's no wonder Steven Spielberg and George Lucas filmed scenes for the Jurassic Park sequel and Return of the Jedi among the redwood giants: It felt as if a T. rex or a furry Ewok could poke its head out at any minute.

Here's a short video about the making of the photograph above which involved three cameras, a team of scientists, a robotic dolly, a gyroscope, and a lot of patience...