Congaree - Tumblr Posts
Congaree National Park, SC
What a special place this is. Here nested in the middle of my home state of South Carolina, between the Congaree and Wateree Rivers, is one of the last old growth forests in the South East United States. Filled with huge Bald Cypress, Tupelo, Loblolly Pine, and many other native trees. Walking through this floodplain forest is like stepping back in time to what many ancient forests here looked like. More posts to come about these amazing trees.
Alright. I have to talk about the pine trees in Congaree National Forest.
This forest is full of inspiration.
This here is a unusually gigantic Loblolly Pine tree. One of the most common tree species found in South Eastern United States. On Average, Loblolly Pines will grow between 60-90 feet tall. Pine forests cover the landscape of South Carolina, and looks like this:
Recently discovering the fact that a quiet and remote National Park resided 2 hours inland from me blew my mind. How had I gone this long without knowing about its existence and significance? Anyone who knows me knows how much I love forests, so I immediately made plans to visit. I needed to see these giants.
I was amazed at the size of these Loblolly champions. The tallest towering at over 167 feet, which is unheard of! There are no pictures I could take that could show the height of these trees due to a thick leaf canopy, so I will explain.
This is a picture of a 12 story building in my hometown, which is about 145 feet tall. The pines in Congaree are TALLER than that. The champion pine is measured at 17 stories in height! Astonishing.
What an amazing and rare gift the floodplain has given us. Trees this tall are rare in this region of the world, so I am thankful to have found them. I can’t wait for my next visit to explore more of the ancient tree species in this forest.
Hello there, fungi friend.
I will be writing more details on the Bald Cypress tree species in a later post. However, the ONLY way I could possible capture the size of this tree was through this video. This Bald Cypress is 30ft in circumstance and estimated to be well over 1,000 years old. Absolutely amazing.
*My dad (the forester) has promptly informed me that they are called Cypress Knees and not “knobs” after watching the video. oops😂
The Bald Cypress
Congaree National Park, South Carolina
First, pictures do NOT do this justice. If you saw my last post, you have a better idea of how massive this tree really is. Now, I gotta talk about one my favorite tree species, which is so special to me and the landscape of this region: the beautiful Bald Cypress. You can easily find these trees and their “knees” in the wetlands along the southern east coast, gulf coast, and parts of the Mississippi River.
These trees are ANCIENT. What I am standing next to here is a tree that is over 1,000 years old. Think about that for a moment - the history of a millennium. Bald Cypress trees are the 5th oldest living thing in the world, and they are the oldest wetland tree in the world. There are currently Bald Cypress trees in North Carolina that are over 2,600 years old, and those are the ones we know of. Being in the presence of a living thing this ancient, truly is humbling to think about and experience.
This tree in Congaree National Park is an impressive 30 feet in circumference. Coming to this forest, and seeing the huge versions of trees I see every day is what makes this place so exciting. It truly makes me ponder the potential of what could have been. Growth and industrialization sadly ruined most of the old growth forest landscape of the southeast. These massive trees were largely harvested for building materials.
Instead of focusing on what could have been, I am glad to experience the few that remain!Thankfully, Congaree is a beautiful time capsule and gift we have to step back in time. Take the time to check out where you can find champion trees where you live! The wetlands here are full of Bald Cypress trees. Looking forward to the future, far past my time, I can only hope those trees can become giants.
Consolidated collection of tree pics from Congaree. This South Carolinian old growth forest is full ancient treasures. I have only explored a very tiny piece of the national park’s 20,000+ acres. Pictured here is Water Tupelo, Loblolly Pine, and Bald Cypress trees.
Every time I come to Congaree, I keep going deeper into the forest, and the trees just keep getting bigger. Today specifically, I finally found the Champion Loblolly Pine Tree. This tree is a towering 169 feet tall.
My most special place in the world. Congaree National Park. This place has held a very special place in my heart since my very first visit a few years ago. It’s so much more than a boardwalk through the woods. You have to truly understand the rare beauty you enter. Pictures can never capture the magic of an old growth forest. There are very few left (like count on one hand few) - especially in the southeast.
When I step into the canopy of Congaree, I enter a time machine showing me what the land here is suppose to look like. Still to this day, wetlands are in grave danger and are flattened and filled in with sand and dirt in the name of cookie cutter neighborhoods. No retaining pond could ever make up for the loss. Then when entire towns by the coast get flooded by the storm seasons, people act surprised. Floodplains and swamps are vital to the natural ecosystem of our home. Not to mention the rich habitats and diverse ecosystems they hold. It’s recently been discovered that bald cypress trees can live longer than 2,000 years. Congaree is ancient. Once you ruin a wetland, you can’t get it back- not for several lifetimes.
We drove up to Congaree tonight because we received a permit from the lottery system to view the synchronous fireflies. They only occur two known places in the world. Congaree and the Smokies. More to come on that later.
The Synchronous Fireflies. If you watch the forest fade into black here, you can truly see the amazing phenomenon and why these fireflies have the name they do. No picture or video I took last night could even come close to capture how magical the Congaree forest was last night. We were surrounded by tens of thousands fireflies dancing above the forest floor. My camera only piked up on a fraction.
This only happens in two known places in the world. The Smoky Mountain Nation Park and Congaree National Park and lasts around a 3 week period. What an amazing thing to see.
Found some new big trees today in Congaree National Park. This time it was in the oak family. As usual, pictures never do the true size of these giants justice. But I saw a collection of the biggest (non-live oak) oak trees ever today. Here’s one of the highlights.
The floodplain old growth forest, full of swamp guts and land often under water, hides truly ancient bald cypress trees. They are treasures the land works to preserve. The ecosystem within Congaree is hard to navigate and most of the time is not a friendly place to explore. You have to accept the creatures, bugs, mushy ground, and very long walks - but when you see the old growth- it’s always worth it. It reminds me that we are all here as a small part of this world among trees that were here 1,000 years before us. The old growth and the young cypress trees will be here long after each of us. To me, it is a humbling, calming reminder.