More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 2026 · 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 open from the …
Tropical Fossils in Alaska | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 2026 · 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 Alaska. These …
Northern Tree Habitats | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 2026 · 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 and maintain …
Pollen season arrives, blame the trees | Geophysical Institute
May 7, 2008 · The air is rich with pollen because spring is the mating season for trees. The first step in a tree's reproductive dance is to release sperm, safely held in the center of a pollen grain. Trees …
Trees as Earthquake Fault Indicators | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 2026 · A swath of dead, tilted and broken trees now makes obvious the trace of the Fairweather fault that broke in July 1958 to devastate Lituya Bay and nearby parts of southeastern Alaska. …
Cottonwood and Balsam Poplar | Geophysical Institute
1 day ago · 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.
Elephant Point and trees growing on ice | Geophysical Institute
Dec 9, 2021 · Geophysical Institute glaciologist Martin Truffer has photographed trees growing well in the thin soil layer atop Bering, Malaspina and other glaciers in southern Alaska. When a glacier …
Why Lower 48 Fruit Trees Don't Do Well in Alaska
Jan 29, 2026 · Newcomers to Alaska will frequently order young pine, fruit or maple trees from their home state in the lower 48. They enthusiastically proclaim that the trees should do well here because …
Feltleaf willows: Alaska’s most abundant tree | Geophysical Institute
May 25, 2023 · The range of the feltleaf willow, probably the most numerous tree in Alaska. From Alaska Trees and Shrubs by Les Viereck and Elbert L. Little, Jr.
The secret life of red squirrels | Geophysical Institute
Nov 27, 2024 · Stan Boutin has climbed more than 5,000 spruce trees in the last 30 years. He has often returned to the forest floor knowing if a ball of twigs and moss within the tree contained newborn red …