Pioneer Cabin Tree

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Tunnel through the Pioneer Cabin Tree, taken in 2006

The Pioneer Cabin Tree (German Pionierhüttenbaum ), also known as The Tunnel Tree ( the tunnel tree ), was a giant sequoia tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park in California . It was considered one of the most famous trees in the United States , drawing thousands of visitors annually. Its age has been estimated to be over a thousand years. Its diameter at the foot was about 10 meters, its exact height was unknown. On January 8, 2017 , it fell over during a storm.

history

around 1860–1880, before the tunnel was built

The Pioneer Cabin Tree got its name because of its trunk, which was partially hollowed out by lightning and forest fires, which could serve as a shelter. Inside there were chambers, a smoke outlet upstairs and a smaller exit at the back.

In 1857 it was recorded that the upper part of the tree broke off at a height of about 50 meters and the core of the remaining trunk was hollow. In 1900 the US Forest Service wrote that the tree was 85 meters tall.

Stereoscopy of the Pioneer Cabin Tree with people and a horse at the tunnel entrance (approx. 1867–1899)

In the 1880s, hotelier James Sperry built a tunnel through the tree modeled on the Wawona Tree in Yosemite Park to attract tourists.

From the 1880s through the 1930s, visitors were encouraged to carve their names on the tree. Initially pedestrians was only allowed the use of the tunnel, later allowed a long time cars on the "Big Trees Trail" ( Way of big trees go) through. The Pioneer Cabin Tree was one of several tunnel trees in California that cars could drive through. In the end only pedestrians were allowed; the tunnel was part of the “North Grove Loop” hiking trail.

On January 8, 2017 at around 2 p.m. local time, the Pioneer Cabin Tree fell over during one of the heaviest storms in 10 years. It was reported that the tree had been crooked for a number of years and that only one branch was still alive. The roots, which were not very deep compared to the size of a sequoia tree, could no longer hold the tree in the sodden ground. It broke into pieces on impact.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Storm falls centuries-old sequoia tree . Spiegel Online , January 11, 2017
  2. ↑ a b Pioneer Cabin Tree in California felled by storm . BBC News , Jan. 9, 2017
  3. ↑ a b An iconic California tree becomes a casuality of this week's storm . Los Angeles Times , January 9, 2017 (English)

Web links

Commons : Pioneer Cabin Tree  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files