It's the tallest tree of its species in the country, and it's growing right here in the Land of 10,000 Trees-- I mean, Lakes.

Here in Minnesota, we're used to placing near the top of lists having to do with Quality of Life, Healthcare, Education and many other things, right?. Well, as it turns out, we're also at the top of the list when it comes to having the tallest jack pine tree in the country too.

That's right. There's a mammoth jack pine tree (just one of the 52 species of trees that call the Bold North home, btw) was confirmed to be the tallest in the United States last December. And it's still growing right here in Minnesota, at Voyageurs National Park, on Minnesota's northern border (about 5-and-a-half hours north of Rochester).

The MPR story details how U of M researchers, out tracking Minnesota's wolf population, initially ran across the giant pine tree earlier last year. Even though it's in the middle of a forest, the tree is tough to miss-- the story says it stands 73-feet tall, with a trunk that's nearly 7 feet around.

The mammoth tree is estimated to be between 300 and 400 years old-- which is pretty good, considering that Minnesota's only been a state for 160 years. The story said the researchers submitted their findings about the giant jack pine to the Champion Trees National Register, which keeps track of the 783 tallest members of each tree species in the country. (Who knew there even was such a list?!?)

Sure enough, early last December, they got confirmation that our Minnesota jack pine is, in fact, the tallest in the entire U. S. of A. Pretty impressive! You can read more about the tree (and see pictures) HERE.

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

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