The Lone Cypress is a

Monterey cypress ''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California. The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of Califor ...

tree located in

Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Standing atop a granite headland overlooking

Carmel Bay Carmel Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California in Monterey County. The bay is long and wide with its mouth about across, between Point Carmel to the south and Point Cypress to the north; Monterey Bay is about f ...

, the tree has become a Western icon and has been called one of the most photographed trees in North America.

History

Early history

The tree is believed to have been seeded circa 1750 in what was then the

Spanish colony The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

. However, due to the invasive nature of traditional dendrochronology, the precise age of the tree is unknown and can only be inferred. Over the centuries the tree has been weathered by the wind and salt spray coming off the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, gradually altering its appearance. The earliest known depictions of the tree's likeness in paintings and photographs date to the 1880s, which shows the tree with a lush dome-shaped canopy.

20th century

In 1941, a stone retaining wall was constructed around the base of the tree to protect its roots from erosion. In 1948, a series of cables were installed to help support the tree. In 1969, the tree was fenced off to the public in order to protect its roots from being damaged from trampling. In 1984, an unknown

arsonist Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attempted to set fire to the tree. The tree survived with only minor fire scarring.

21st century

On February 16, 2019, the tree lost one of its limbs during a severe weather event known as a

Pineapple Express Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent large-scale flow of warm moist air, and the associated heavy precipitation both in the waters immediately northeast of the Hawaii ...

. This dramatically altered its appearance.

Future

The future longevity of the tree is unknown, but it is hoped that it will survive into the early 22nd century. However, the longest-lived Monterey cypress based on physical evidence lived to only 284 years old.

Geography

The tree is located off 17-Mile Drive between

Cypress Point Club Cypress Point Club is a private golf club located in Pebble Beach, California, at the northern end of the Central Coast. Its single 18-hole course has been named as one of the finest in golf, best known for a series of dramatic holes along th ...

and the

Pebble Beach Golf Links Pebble Beach Golf Links is a public golf course on the west coast of the United States, located in Pebble Beach, California. Regarded by ''Travel and Leisure'' blog as one of the most beautiful courses in the world, it hugs the rugged coastlin ...

, two of world's best-known golf courses. The

grows naturally only in Pebble Beach and

Point Lobos Point Lobos and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is a state park in California. Adjoining Point Lobos is "one of the richest marine habitats in California." The ocean habitat is protected by two marine protected areas, the Point Lobos St ...

Trademark

A drawing of the tree was registered as Pebble Beach Company's trademark in 1919. The company said the trademark protected not only the logo but also the tree itself.

Gallery

File:Outing (1885) (14596471348).jpg, Cypress Point from Wintering In California by Charles Howard Shinn, 1885 File:Lone Cypress, 17 Mile Drive.jpg, Postcard of Lone Cypress at Midway Point, 17 Mile Drive, by Edward H. Mitchell, 1910 File:The_Lone_Cypress,_by_Brian_Walter,_2017.jpg, Lone Cypress, 2017 File:The Lone Cypress, 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, California.jpg, Lone Cypress showing its altered appearance, 2019

References

External links

{{Pebble Beach Tourist attractions in Monterey County, California Pebble Beach, California Individual conifers Individual trees in California