
Northern Tree Habitats - Geophysical Institute
Dec 4, 2025 · Interior Alaskan forests have only six native tree species: white spruce, black spruce, quaking aspen, balsam poplar, larch (tamarack) and paper birch. Northern Canadian …
Cottonwood and Balsam Poplar | Geophysical Institute
Dec 4, 2025 · The Klukwan giant holds the national record for black cottonwood diameter. Its nearest rival, a tree near Salem, Oregon, does hold the national height record. The Klukwan …
The majesty and mystery of Alaska yellow cedar | Geophysical …
Jul 23, 2021 · A tree near one of our campsites had a crack at its base through which we could pass the folded saw. Yet the tree was still alive, with just one rope of cambium — the outer …
Tree Rings and History | Geophysical Institute
Dec 4, 2025 · A tree's age can be easily determined by counting its growth rings, as any Boy or Girl Scout knows. Annually, the tree adds new layers of wood which thicken during the …
Burls - Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · Burls, spherical woody growths on the trunks of spruce, birch and other trees, are commonly found throughout wooded parts of Alaska.
More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · I eventually found a tree with a spiral lightning mark and it followed the spiral grain exactly. One tree, of course, proves nothing. "But why should the tree spiral? More speculation …
Trees as Earthquake Fault Indicators | Geophysical Institute
Dec 4, 2025 · Then using tree ring dating methods, it may be possible to date earthquakes occurring before historical records were kept. The ability to identify and date very large …
Burls and Human Cancer | Geophysical Institute
Dec 4, 2025 · Photograph of a section cut from a tree with 5 burls that simultaneously grew at the same level on the tree. Annual growth rings can be followed around the tree trunk at center …
Orange trees in the Alaska Range | Geophysical Institute
Sep 3, 2020 · It was a tree disease known as spruce needle rust, which infects only the current year’s needles of white, black and Sitka spruce trees. The orange powder is composed of …
Formerly Frosty Footing Causes Drunken Forests
Sep 21, 1995 · By the unique pattern of the tree rings, they determined the tree began its fight to right itself after a thermokarst developed 120 years ago. The same thing that makes trees …