
Cottonwood and Balsam Poplar | Geophysical Institute
Jun 12, 2025 · While poplar may grow to 100 feet high and two feet across, cottonwood can reach to 125 feet and be much larger in diameter. Cottonwoods three feet in diameter at breast …
Northern Tree Habitats - Geophysical Institute
Jun 12, 2025 · They examined the present range of lodgepole pine and decided that the tree could survive in interior Alaska if given a chance. Lodgepole pine grows from southern …
Burls - Geophysical Institute
May 22, 2025 · Since the hardness of the wood is related to the rate of growth, the wood inside a rapidly growing burl is softer than the wood elsewhere in the tree. Nevertheless, it is hard …
Witches' Broom - Geophysical Institute
Jun 12, 2025 · Witches' broom on spruce trees is caused by a rust disease (a kind of fungus disease). The rust lives on the spruce tree throughout the year. Each spring, small yellow …
Trees as Earthquake Fault Indicators - Geophysical Institute
Jun 12, 2025 · Then using tree ring dating methods, it may be possible to date earthquakes occurring before historical records were kept. The ability to identify and date very large …
More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral - Geophysical Institute
Jun 12, 2025 · One tree, of course, proves nothing. "But why should the tree spiral? More speculation here: Foliage tends to be thicker on the south side of the tree because of better …
Tree Rings and History - Geophysical Institute
May 1, 2025 · A tree's age can be easily determined by counting its growth rings, as any Boy or Girl Scout knows. Annually, the tree adds new layers of wood which thicken during the …
Rock redwoods in Sutton, stone bird tracks in Denali
Feb 10, 2011 · The tree, a dawn redwood, died of unknown causes about 55 million years ago. Williams, a researcher at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, studies …
The largest black spruce in Alaska | Geophysical Institute
Aug 16, 2010 · The tree leans uphill, and its trunk is 45 inches around. When I hugged it, I could barely clasp my hands together. The largest black spruce in Alaska is a lucky tree, because its …
Mummified forest tells tale of a changing north
Jan 6, 2011 · The mummy trees of northern Ellesmere Island include a trunk of a pine tree four feet long and six inches in diameter. Each of the trees was at least 75 years old when it died. …