Big White Pine

Big White Pine (HM1HF6)

Location: Little Falls, MN 56345 Morrison County
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Country: United States of America
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N 45° 57.485', W 94° 23.449'

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Inscription

King of the Forest

White pines once dominated northern Minnesota. Even in Lindbergh's time these scattered reminders of earlier eras dotted the pasture.

The trunk in front of you is the remains of one of these forest giants. This white pine stood 100-feet tall and was about four feet in diameter. It was struck by lightning in 1986 and died the following year. Lindbergh referred to this tree as the "sentry" because it stood so tall and watched over the farm.

Aging Trees

You can count this trunk's growth rings to figure out the age of this pine. Each year a tree grows new tissue, called springwood and summerwood, which results in a ringed appearance. This annual growth is like a birthday calendar.

Foresters don't cut down trees to count their rings. Instead they use a sharp instrument that bores a core sample from the tree. This determines the age of the tree and tells how fast it's growing.

[Photo caption reads]

The WPA built a fence around this remnant pine to protect it from visitors who might drive cars over its roots. A mere seedling in the early 1700s, this tree might have provided shade for fur traders and Ojibwe hunters.

Minnesota Historical Society

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This large white pine was struck by lightning in 1986 and died in 1987. It was about 280 years old, 48 inches in diameter and 120 feet tall.

In the 1800's, trees such as this one comprised the common forest canopy in the northeastern half of Minnesota. However, by the early 1900's most of them had been cut and sawn into lumber. Minnesota white pine lumber built homes in all of the lower 48 states.

Details

HM Number	HM1HF6
Series	This marker is part of the Minnesota Historical Society series
Tags	Horticulture and Forestry, Environment
Placed By	Minnesota Historical Society and Minnesota Dept of Natural Resources
Marker Condition	No reports yet
Date Added	Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 at 4:14am PDT -07:00

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Locationbig map

UTM (WGS84 Datum)	15T E 392224 N 5090330
Decimal Degrees	45.95808333, -94.39081667
Degrees and Decimal Minutes	N 45° 57.485', W 94° 23.449'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds	45° 57' 29.1" N, 94° 23' 26.94" W
Driving Directions	Google Maps
Area Code(s)	320
Closest Postal Address	At or near 1660-2004 Co Rd 224, Little Falls MN 56345, US
Alternative Maps	Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap