Monday, January 9, 2017

Iconic Sequoia 'Tunnel Tree' Brought Down ByStorm

The "Pioneer Cabin" sequoia in Calavera Big Trees State Park was toppled by the winter storm that hit the west coast.

The iconic tree was one of just a few tunneled-through sequoias in California. The most famous was the Wawona Tree, in Yosemite National Park; it fell during a winter storm in 1969 at an estimated age of 2,100 years. The other remaining sequoia tunnels are dead, or consist of logs on their side, the Forest Service says.

However, there are still three coastal redwoods (taller and more slender than sequoias) with tunnels cut through them. They're all operated by private companies, the Forest Service says, and still allow cars to drive through — one appeared in a recent Geico ad.










A 1899 stereograph shows the Pioneer Cabin sequoia in Calaveras Grove, California.
B.L. Singley/New York Public Library


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