Birch bark facts for kids

A Russian birch bark letter (14th century).

Birch bark is the tough, outer layer of certain birch trees. The most common type comes from the paper birch tree, but other similar trees like the gray birch also provide it.

Birch bark is very useful because it's strong and doesn't let water through. It's a bit like cardboard in some ways. You can easily cut it, bend it, and even sew pieces together. Because of these great qualities, people have used birch bark for building, making crafts, and even as a writing material since ancient times. Birch bark also has special substances that are used in medicines and chemicals.

Amazing Uses of Birch Bark

Finnish fishing net weights made out of birch bark and stones.

Birch bark was very important in many parts of the world where birch trees grew:

• In North America, native people used birch bark to build canoes that could travel on water and wigwams for shelter.
• In places like Scandinavia and Finland, people used it for many things. They made roofs for their homes, and also created boxes, casks, and buckets from it.
• In Russia, many old birch bark documents from the Middle Ages have been found. These documents show how people used birch bark for writing.
• In ancient India, birch bark was used for writing, just like dried palm leaves. It was an early form of paper.

Birch bark can also be used as tinder to start fires. It's excellent for this because its inner layers often stay dry, even after heavy rain. You would need to soak birch bark in water for a very long time to make it useless for starting a fire.

Images for kids

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  Birchbark shoes

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  Birchbark box with lid and bottom of birch wood

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  Contemporary quillwork design on birch bark, by Ferdy Goode

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  A birch bark longhouse on Whitefish Island in Canada

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  North American birchbark canoe

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  Birchbark knife handle