Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
f igu r e 13 . A bristlecone pine growing in the White Mountains,
eastern California. (Photo by B. Lynn Ingram.)
On the way up the trail, Powell had listened to his fellow hikers as they
talked about the odd but hardy bristlecone pines. h is group of scientists is
on a research mission led by Edmund Schulman, who i rst discovered the
surprisingly great age of these remarkable trees. For many years at er this
summer i eld trip, Powell remembered how Schulman, not yet i t y years
old, sounded at times almost obsessed with the longevity of the trees. h ere
on the slopes he observed them: the most gnarled were still alive at over
4,000 years of age.
Bristlecone pines are found throughout the Great Basin, from Colorado
to California, but the oldest live only in the White Mountains of California,
a range that runs parallel to and east of the Sierra Nevada range, just north of
Death Valley. h e White Mountains are high—up to 14,000 feet above sea
level—and cold, windy, and dry. h
e range receives less than twelve inches of
