Burned Redwood Stump
One of the things that surprised us was that in Redwoods, every tree had some burn scars on the lower part of the trunk. Some trunks were blackened to 20 or 30 feet but the trees were fine above. Since many of the trees were hundreds of years old, the fires may have occurred at any time after they were tall enough that the branches and leaves escaped harm. This photograph is of a stump that was totally burned but it is unknown if the fire killed it, it was dead before the fire, or if the tree died from something else later. The stump is now the home for a good crop of moss.
Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the origina... ... read more 
