
Tropical Fossils in Alaska | Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · Paleobotanist Jack A. Wolfe of the United States Geological Survey at Menlo Park, California, has found a number of tropical rain forest fossils along the eastern Gulf of …
Cottonwood and Balsam Poplar | Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · The Klukwan giant belies the belief that trees tend to get smaller the farther north one goes. Both balsam poplar and cottonwood have value for fuel wood, pulp and lumber.
Northern Tree Habitats | Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · Why take a chance with exotics, when native trees have proven their ability to survive? Several reasons prompt testing of foreign tree species. Human activities often create …
Black Spruce | Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · Somehow black spruce trees seem like the jackasses of the northern forests--sort of ungainly looking, ugly little beasts that somehow can survive under conditions prohibitive to …
The Kodiak Treeline | Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · Spruce trees planted on the islands by the Russians in 1805 are doing just fine and reseeding themselves naturally, although the total tree population hardly amounts to a forest.
More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
Nov 6, 2025 · In an earlier column , I asked if any readers could explain why the grain in trees seemed to spiral up the trunk-in a clockwise direction. That is, spiral marks in old trees crack …
The largest black spruce in Alaska | Geophysical Institute
Aug 16, 2010 · The Alaska champion black spruce tree stands on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The tree lives in a mixed forest next to large white spruce trees, mature …
Burls - Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · Burls weaken trees but do not kill them. The weakening effect, however, makes the trees vulnerable to other diseases which can kill them. Relatively little is known about …
Tamarack -- Not A Dead Spruce | Geophysical Institute
Nov 20, 2025 · When one of these trees finds itself on a better site, however, it shows a remarkable change of pace. Individual tamarack growing in white spruce stands may achieve …
The majesty and mystery of Alaska yellow cedar | Geophysical …
Jul 23, 2021 · Here, in a forest a few hundred feet above a shrinking glacier, Gaglioti is felling one of the most enigmatic trees in Alaska: an Alaska yellow cedar. These trees, which can live …