If you have ever visited western South Dakota, you have seen the magnificent Black Hills and most likely marveled in their all-natural splendor. In addition to being covered in towering hills and mountains, the Black Hills are filled to the brim with tens of thousands of trees, some of which — you may be surprised to learn — are more than 750 years old!

Located deep within the Black Hills of South Dakota lies "Rosa," a nearly 800-year-old ponderosa pine tree that is thought to have been planted around 1241.
Flickr/Ed Suominen
Tracked by researchers with the Forest Service and the School of Mines, the exact location of Rosa is top secret, as to keep it safe from vandals and track several variables.
Flickr/Ed Suominen
What stories can an old tree tell? Through historic trees like Rosa, scientists can learn more about the climate, as well as the frequency of bug invasions, fires, and other natural disasters.
Flickr/Chris M Morris

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How are researchers able to decipher these things from a tall tree? It is through their rings, which are layers of wood cells formed during each growing season that reveals not only historical conditions but also the tree's approximate age. 
Flickr/Peter Stevens
While Rosa is not the oldest tree in the country, "she" is certainly toward the top of the list, which includes Utah's pictured 80,000+-year-old Pando (a clonal colony of an individual male quaking aspen that is said to be the oldest organism in the world), California's Jurupa Oak (a clonal colony of palmer's oak that dates back some 13,000 years), and California's Methuselah (a 4,850-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine). 
J Zapell/Wikimedia Commons
While you may never get to see Rosa for yourself, scientists believe there may be other nearly 800-year-old trees scattered about the Black Hills, so keep your eyes peeled!
Flickr/Richie Diesterheft
It can't be *that* hard to spot an 800-year-old tree... right?! 

Did you know that South Dakota was home to these ancient trees?

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