LARGEST -- Douglas Fir Tree Section in the World - Corvallis, OR
N 44° 33.842 W 123° 17.112
10T E 477352 N 4934561
This section from a Douglas Fir is located at the front entrance to Peavy Hall on the Oregon State University campus.
Waymark Code: WMQ0XD
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 11/25/2015
Views: 1
Located at the front entrance to Peavy Hall, home of the College of Forestry on the Oregon State University campus is a large tree section from a Douglas Fir. There is a plaque monumented on the section that reads:
THIS IS A SECTION FROM THE WORLD'S LARGEST LIVING DOUGLAS FIR TREE WHICH TOPPLED BEFORE HEAVY COASTAL WINDS ON CROWN ZELLERBACH'S CLATSOP TREE FARM NEAR SEASIDE, OREGON, NOVEMBER 25, 1962.
THE OREGON GIANT WAS 1548 FEET IN DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT AND 200 FEET 6 INCHES IN HEIGHT AT ITS 4-FOOT BROKEN TOP-FIGURES RECORDED BY THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THE TREE WAS ABOUT 300 FEET HIGH BEFORE THE TOP BROKE OUT.
THE ANCIENT MONARCH CONTAINED AN ESTIMATED 100,000 BOARD FEET OF WOOD -- ENOUGH TO BUILD 10 TWO-BEDROOM HOMES OR MAKE 150 TONS OF PAPER. THE CLATSOP FIR, AT 702 YEARS, WAS A SEEDLING WHEN MARCO POLO BEGAN HIS TRAVELS.
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF ITS ADVANCED AGE, THE OLD TREE SUFFERED FROM DISEASE AND ROT. LOGGERS HAD TO CUT CROSS SECTION 38 FEET ABOVE GROUND TO REACH SOLID WOOD. THE TREE'S DIAMETER AT THIS HEIGHT WAS 15.8 FEET.
The Seaside Museum website highlights this historical tree here.
I also located a blog site (link below) that mentions this Douglas Fir as the world's largest Douglas Fir by volume. There are a few other 'World's Largest Douglas Fir' trees by age or height located in the West Coast.