Encino Oak Tree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Encino Oak Tree |
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Encino Oak Tree section
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| Location | Louise Avenue, 210 feet south of Ventura Boulevard, Encino, Los Angeles, California |
| Governing body | City of Los Angeles |
| Designated | September 6, 1963 |
| Reference no. | 24 |
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The Encino Oak Tree, also called the Lang Oak, was a giant California live oak tree. It grew in the Encino part of Los Angeles, California. This amazing tree was believed to be around 1,000 years old! It was so important that it was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1963.
A Tree Through Time
Imagine a tree that was alive when Vikings were exploring and ancient empires were changing! The Encino Oak was already 100 years old when the first Crusades began. When the first Europeans arrived in Encino in 1769, the tree was already over 700 years old. It had seen so much history!
An Encino Landmark
As Encino grew into a community, the Encino Oak became a famous landmark. People knew it for its huge size and how long it had lived. It was even called "the oldest known tree in the city of Los Angeles." Most California live oak trees are considered old at 300 years. So, the Encino tree's age was truly special. One tree expert said, "It's just like standing next to a dinosaur."
The large California live oaks were very important in the Encino area before it became a city. In fact, the community was named after the Spanish word for "oak." The Encino Oak was the most magnificent of all the oaks. It was so big that a road, Louise Avenue, had to split around it. Its leafy top, called a canopy, spread out 150-foot (46 m). Its trunk was 8-foot (2.4 m) across and 24-foot (7.3 m) around. People said it felt like a whole forest, not just one tree.
In 1958, the tree was in danger. A builder wanted to cut it down to make a road. But local people formed a group called Encino Save the Oaks. They worked hard, and the builder eventually gave the tree to the city. It was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1963. After this, many tourists came to see the famous tree.
Facing Sickness
By the 1990s, the tree started to get sick. Some people thought it was because a nearby reservoir, built in 1921, stopped the natural water flow to the tree. Others blamed air pollution from nearby traffic. The tree also suffered from a problem called oak root fungus.
In 1991, it was diagnosed with slime flux. This is a tree sickness caused by bacteria. These bacteria create a liquid inside the tree that oozes out through the bark. Tree experts said the oak needed special care to survive. They debated how to treat it. Some suggested drilling small holes in the bark to let out the liquid. Others worried this would stress the tree too much. Oak root fungus is a more serious problem for these trees. It likely happened because of changes to the area, like roads and altered water flow.
Many people tried to help save the sick oak. In 1996, a newspaper reported that the tree was "in trouble." In 1997, the Encino oak was honored at an Arbor Day ceremony. A special guest, Wirt Morton, said he had "never seen anything as phenomenal as that."
Its Final Days
On February 7, 1998, a strong El Niño storm hit. The storm's winds were too much for the sick tree. It fell down. When news spread, people gathered. Some cried, and many took branches as souvenirs. It was sad that after surviving so many threats from development, the tree finally fell due to nature. Police officers had to guard the tree's remains to stop people from taking pieces.
After the tree fell, city officials discussed what to do with its remains. In the end, the city decided to plant five new trees where the Encino Oak once stood. They planted three California sycamores and two coast live oaks. In April 1999, the city also showed off a large, oval slice of the tree, measuring 8-by-6-foot (2.4 m × 1.8 m), at a special ceremony.
