Born and died civilization, broke and went out of the revolution, rose in the sky "mushrooms" of nuclear explosions, but on the mountain White Mountain in California all these thousands of years lived and live pine tree - the oldest tree of the Earth. Learn to speak it, much that is instructive, perhaps, could tell. But the silent pine, and only its branches rustle in the wind.
Prior to the National Park Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest to get uneasy. It lies away from the high tourist roads, rather high in the mountains and most of the year is closed due to snow drifts. It is in this reserve are growing the most ancient trees of our planet. Their age is measured in thousands of years, the oldest named Methuselah is now 4772 years.
The tree is named for one of the biblical characters who lived 969 years. Now, this pine is the oldest individual living organism on our planet.
Tree found in 1953 a scientist Edmund Schulman, who five years later published an article about it in the magazine «National Geographic». Struck the pine world fame almost ruined the tree, because every visitor trying to take a souvenir piece of bark or a branch. Wood suffered greatly over the years while access to it was open to everyone and it was a plaque certifying the age. At this point the exact location of Methuselah is kept a closely guarded secret to prevent vandalism.
