Old Survivor
Old Survivor | ||
---|---|---|
Species Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | | |
Coordinates | 37°47′34″N 122°10′29″W / 37.7928°N 122.1748°W | |
Height | 250 ft (76 m) | |
Diameter | 26 ft (7.9 m) | |
Date seeded | 1549-1554 |
Old Survivor, also known as the Grandfather Tree, is the last remaining old-growth
Description
Old Survivor has a unique shaggy appearance with several large branches drooping outward from its sparse upper crown. The tree is much taller than the surrounding trees, all of which are second growth. Despite its name, the tree, which dates to 1549–1554, is actually young for an old-growth coastal redwood, many of which live between 1200 and 1800 years old or more.[1] Between 7-12 years before Old Survivor was seeded, Spanish/Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo had led the first expedition to explore the coast of what is now California.[2]
The tree can be observed at a distance from the York Trail of Leona Heights Park, or from the parking lot of Carl B. Munck Elementary School where there is a plaque detailing the tree's statistics and history.
History
From 1845 to 1860,
In 1916, the land where the tree stands was purchased by the city of Oakland in order to preserve the remaining redwoods in the area.[4]
The tree was rediscovered in 1969 by Oakland Parks naturalist Paul Covel in what was then McCrea Memorial Park (today called Leona Heights Park). A core ring count at the time made by Glen Strouse at Humboldt State University estimated the tree's age to be between 415 and 420 years old relative to 1969.[4][5][6]
Old Survivor was designated a City of Oakland Historic Landmark on June 24, 1980.[7]
In 2018, the documentary film Old Survivor celebrated the tree and reflected back on the history of Oakland's
See also
- List of individual trees
- Redwood Regional Park
- East Bay Regional Park District
References
- ^ "Sequoia gigantea is of an ancient and distinguished family". Nps.gov. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
- ^ Kelsey, Harry (1986). Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. San Marino: The Huntington Library. pp. 145–55.
- ^ Sylvia Linsteadt (January 1, 2017). "Old Giants: The Last Days of Oakland's Redwoods". Retrieved February 11, 2017.
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(help) - ^ a b "'Old Survivor' film documents Oakland's last original redwood". East Bay Times. 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ^ Herron Zamora, Jim (August 14, 2006). "The 'Grandfather' of Oakland's redwoods". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Information about "Oakland Rewdoods - Old Survivor artticle (1969).jpg" on old survivor redwood tree - Oakland - LocalWiki". localwiki.org. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ^ "List of Designated Landmarks | Historic Preservation | City of Oakland | California". www2.oaklandnet.com. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ^ "Old Survivor Documentary: A Celebration of Oakland's Redwoods". Save the Redwoods League. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
- ^ "Old Survivor Film Project – OaklandTrails.org". Retrieved 2019-11-25.