Hidden deep within the jungles of southern Chile, a giant tree has stood for thousands of years, in the process being recognized as the world’s oldest tree.
Known as the “Great Grandfather”, the trunk, which measures 4 meters in diameter and 28 meters high, is said to contain valuable information regarding how the earth adapted to the process. how climate change.
Antonio Lara, a researcher at Austral University and the Chilean Center for Climate Science, said that, dating back more than 5,000 years, this giant tree is about to replace Methuselah, the 4,850-year-old bristlecone pine in California, USA. thereby officially recognized as the oldest tree on the planet.
According to local media, the tree is located at the edge of a ravine in the southern forest of Los Rios, about 800km south of the capital Santiago. This is a Patagonian cypress endemic to the south of the continent.
Many years ago, when information about the ancient cypress tree was made public, this place became a tourist attraction. Many tourists do not mind walking for an hour through the forest just to take pictures next to “the oldest tree in the world”.
Due to the increase in popularity, the number of visitors has increased, the national forestry agency has to increase the number of forest rangers to strictly protect and minimize the access of visitors.
It is known that the Patagonian cypress is a species native to Chile and Argentina. They belong to the same family as Sequoias and giant redwoods. This species is slow growing, can reach a height of up to 45m. Here, they are over-exploited due to the high value of the timber. Over the centuries, the thick trunks of trees were cut down, used for shipbuilding and building houses.
This great tree was discovered in 1972. At that time, a forest guard named Anibal Henriquez was the one who found it while patrolling in the forest. Later, his nephew Jonathan Barichivich became one of many experts conducting research on it.
By building a predictive model to calculate the exact age of the tree, expert Barichivich said, the chance that the tree is over 5,000 years old is 80%. He hopes to be able to publish the results of his research soon.
This tree is now recognized as a national monument in Chile.
While the Patagonian cypress in Chile is well known, the exact location of Methuselah, the bristlecone pine in the national park in California, USA, is a mystery. For decades, many tourists have come here with the hope of finding the right location, but all in vain.
