Whitebark Pines of Crater Lake National Park
The whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis, meaning white-stemmed pine) is a tree found at Crater Lake National Park generally above 6500 feet on exposed slopes in dry, rocky soils.
| Ernest G. Moll, in his collection of poems about Crater Lake, wrote of the whitebark pine:
On this torn ridge he rooted, proud and free, Battling the wild earth-forces for control; Life granted not his dream of beauty, so he, Majestically dying, reached his goal.
Larry Eifert photo whitebark pine on Caldera Rim |
This tree is easily identified by its whitish-gray bark and often twisted branches. Although Crater Lake National Park has no true timberline, whitebark pine forms the elfinwood or krummholz of timberline in many western mountain ranges.
Whitebark pine is a pioneer species colonizing subalpine habitats as the first tree. At the Crater Lake caldera, whitebark pine may have been the first tree to colonize the pumice slopes of old Mount Mazama within the first century following the climactic eruption. Whitebark pine is arranged in ribbons or bands along the contours of Cloudcap and other habitats along the caldera’s edge. These sites represent slightly higher, rocky substrate for the survival of whitebark seedlings since exposed areas devoid of snow earlier in the year have a significantly longer growing season.
Where Have the Whitebark Pines Gone? -Steve Mark and Ron Mastrogiuseppe, 1993, Nature Notes From Crater Lake].
Nature Notes From Crater Lake
- Crater Lake Pines – Orville Page, Vol. 21 – 1955 (page 3)
- Reminders of Uncertainty – Steve Mark and Ron Mastrogiuseppe, Vol. 25, 1994
- Mimicry Among the Pines? – Ron and Joy Mastrogiuseppe, Vol. 26 – 1995
- Pumice Fields and a Sense of Landscape Wonder – Ron Mastrogiuseppe, Vol. 29, 1998
- Memory and Symbiosis on the Rim – Ron Mastrogiuseppe, Vol. 30, 1999
- Studying the Denizens of Tomsandi – Susie Donahue, Vol. 31, 2000
- The Crater Lake Currant – Greg Reddell, Vol. 32-33, 2001-2002
Related Articles, Books and Images
- Status of Whitebark Pine in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, 2000, Michael P. Murray, Mary Rasumussen, Crater Lake N.P.
- Fire Knowledge for Managing Cascadian Whitebark Pine Ecosystems: A Final Report to the Joint Fire Sciences Program (PDF file), 2005, Joel Siderius and Michael Murray
- Whitebark Pine (Pinus Albicaulis), Forests of Crater Lake National Park, J. F. Pernot, United States Forest Service, Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, 1916.
- Fire History of Whitebark Pine Forests Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks; Dr Michael Murray, Crater Lake, OR; Investigator’s Annual Report 25854; 2004
- Fire History of Whitebark Pine Forests Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks; Michael Murray, Crater Lake, OR; Investigator’s Annual Report 35203; 2005
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