Forks, WA

Around the time Leif Ericson and his fellow Vikings were sailing to North America, this mighty Sitka cedar tree was just a sprout. Even in this forest of ancient trees, this mighty specimen has a particularly powerful presence. Botanists believe it to be roughly 1,000 years old. At 175 feet tall, the tree is the third-largest of its kind.

The weathered bark bears the scars of a coastal storm that tore the trunk almost in two in 2014. Despite the damage, the tree continues to produce leaves. It shows the cycle of life through their decomposing and froth into a nurse tree.