Posted in Nevada Nature February 12, 2022 by Natalie Faulk

Visit The World’s Oldest Tree Stump At This National Park In Nevada

The Great Basin National Park in Nevada is home to one of the world’s oldest living trees: the bristlecone pine. Back in 1960, a researcher was studying the great Prometheus and, after getting his sampling bore caught in the trunk, proceeded to cut down the magnificent tree. It was subsequently dated as being the oldest living organism in the world. Today, Prometheus – now the world’s oldest tree stump – sits below Nevada’s Wheeler Peak.

Prometheus is located in Nevada's Great Basin National Park in the eastern part of the state near the Utah border.

Bristlecone Pines are found in isolated groves beneath the treeline, like Wheeler Peak Grove.

These magnificent trees are exceptionally hardy, able to withstand strong winds, being buried in snow, and sub-zero temperatures.

For self-preservation, these trees have been known to conserve their limited resources by allowing portions of themselves to die. Thus, bristlecone pines are not very tall (unlike the giant California sequoias) and have an extremely weathered, nearly-dead appearance. Their slow growth also makes these impressive trees resistant to insects, erosion, fungi, and rot.

In 1960, a graduate student searching for the world's oldest trees received permission to take a sample from Prometheus. His drill bore got stuck in the tree's massive trunk, and, tragically, he cut it down to retrieve his tool.

Upon doing so, he realized his immeasurably massive mistake. After counting the rings, he determined that he had felled, perhaps, the oldest tree in the world. Prometheus was dated as having lived 4,862 years - longer than any other single organism.

Prometheus' stump can still be found on Wheeler Peak: twisted, cracked, historic, and somewhat sad.

No older tree has ever been found; however, a tree known as Methuselah, in eastern California’s White Mountains, is believed to be approximately 4,850+ years old. Many more magnificent bristlecone pines are found in several areas throughout the Great Basin, as well as in parts of California.

Have you visited this world’s oldest tree stump? Please share your experiences in the comments!

Address: National Forest Development Road 448, NF-448, Nevada 89311, USA

The OIYS Visitor Center

National Park to Visit in Nevada

February 16, 2022

Tori Jane

What are some of the best National Parks in Nevada?

Nevada is home to two National Parks, but don’t let that fool you – they’re both amazing, and the rest of the Silver State has 24 amazing state parks that might just become National Parks someday. Of course, there are plenty more still if you want to count National Recreation Areas, which Nevada has plenty of as well. The two National Parks in Nevada are the amazing Death Valley National Park, which is shared with California and just so happens to be the lowest elevation, hottest, driest National Park in the entire country. Lucky us. That one is best visited in the winter, as summer temperatures are brutally hot (hence the name of the whole valley). Daytime temperatures can reach 120 degrees or more! Then, there’s the beautiful Great Basin National Park, which you can find in the Great Basin Desert. That park is scenic, home to plenty of wildlife like bighorn sheep, and you can find most of the South Snake Mountains within the park’s boundaries. While you’re here, though, you can’t miss Lake Mead National Recreation Area; that one is bound to be a National Park someday! For some ideas about what to do once you get to Great Basin NP, you might want to look into these awesome hidden gems.

What are the most interesting things to do outside in Nevada?

Nevada is a great state for outdoorsy folks. There are plenty of things to do outdoors all year round, as temperatures, for the most part, are relatively mild throughout the state (we’re not counting the extremes of places like Death Valley right now, okay?). Some of our favorite things to do and places to go to enjoy the great outdoors in Nevada include visiting Cathedral Gorge State Park, which is amazing and filled with intriguing rock formations and geological wonders. For a more offbeat thing to do that’s still pretty interesting, visit the man-made-by-accident Fly Geyser two hours north of Reno in the Black Rock Desert. You’d probably never know it was made (by accident) if you just happened upon it one day. Of course, then there are the classics, like heading out to Lake Mead (which was the US’s first National Recreation Area). It’s one of the most visited parks in the whole US National Parks system; it’s worth a visit to see why.

Address: National Forest Development Road 448, NF-448, Nevada 89311, USA