Twister (limber pine)
Encyclopedia
Twister is the name given to an ancient Limber pine
by Bryan Tikalsky, a graduate student from Brigham Young University
and his graduate advisor, Matthew F. Bekker
. Twister, located in Utah
, near Alta
, first sprouted some time before 309
AD, which makes this tree at least 1699 years old as of 2008. Because the wood at the center of the tree had rotted, it could not be analyzed. Therefore, the exact age could not be determined. Had all of the wood been intact, it very likely would have revealed the tree to be greater than 2,000 years old. The name is based on the tree's twisted appearance. Tikalsky and Bekker derived a stream-flow reconstruction for the Jordan River Drainage Basin from Twister and many of its neighboring trees.
Limber Pine
The Limber Pine, Pinus flexilis, is a species of pine tree-the family Pinaceae that occurs in the mountains of the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is also called Southwestern White Pine and Rocky Mountain White Pine...
by Bryan Tikalsky, a graduate student from Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
and his graduate advisor, Matthew F. Bekker
Matthew F. Bekker
Matthew F. Bekker is an environmental geographer and dendrochronologist. He is a professor of geography at Brigham Young University .Bekker has a bachelors degree from BYU, a masters degree from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Iowa. Much of his study...
. Twister, located in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, near Alta
Alta, Utah
Alta is a town in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 370 at the 2000 census, a slight decrease from the 1990 figure of 397....
, first sprouted some time before 309
309
Year 309 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Licinianus and Constantius...
AD, which makes this tree at least 1699 years old as of 2008. Because the wood at the center of the tree had rotted, it could not be analyzed. Therefore, the exact age could not be determined. Had all of the wood been intact, it very likely would have revealed the tree to be greater than 2,000 years old. The name is based on the tree's twisted appearance. Tikalsky and Bekker derived a stream-flow reconstruction for the Jordan River Drainage Basin from Twister and many of its neighboring trees.