Western redcedar is a very large tree commonly found in the Pacific Northwest. Frequently growing up to 70 metres and with a trunk diameter of 7 metres, they can live well over 1000 years. Specific is tricky to accurately measure on living trees, however, the oldest verified western redcedar was recorded as 1460 years old. The big western redcedars in Whistler's Ancient Cedars forest are thought to be 1000 years old.
Alexander Falls 
Ancient Cedars 
Black Tusk 
Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake 
Cheakamus River 
Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs Mount Sproatt Taylor Meadows Train Wreck 
Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
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The awkward name spelling attributed to the western redcedar is to indicate that it is not a true cedar, but rather one of two Thuja species native to North America. Though western redcedar appears to be the most authoritative spelling used, many other variations of the name are frequently used. Western red cedar, Pacific red cedar, giant arborvitae, western arborvitae are some examples of many of these variant names. Along with the variations on spelling, the names are sometimes spelled with uppercase and lowercase. So, for example Western Red Cedar is frequently found in use. The confusing variation in spelling is compounded by the spelling of the two other prominent trees found alongside western redcedars. Douglas-fir and western hemlock trees are close neighbours in forests in Whistler and much of the Pacific Northwest. The spelling for Douglas-fir is with an uppercase 'D', which when found together in a sentence makes the spelling of the three trees, western redcedar, Douglas-fir and western hemlock look awkwardly incorrect. Added to that the official taxonomy of the western redcedar is Thuja plicata, with an uppercase 'T' and lowercase 'p'.
Western redcedars that grow in the open tend to have crowns that stretch to the ground, whereas crowded trees will have crowns only at the top where sunlight can reach them. Western redcedars are able to thrive in many areas, from mountainsides to thickly forested swamps and streams. They are even able to grown under dense shade, an attribute not shared by many other large tree species. Western redcedars have a strong and wonderful aroma that comes from a natural preservative in their outer sapwood that prevents decay. This preservative contributes to their wonderful longevity. The lack of this preservative deep within the trunks also partly explains why old Western redcedars are hollow at their base. Some remarkably beautiful and old Western redcedars found in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino are so enormous and hollow at their base that several people can fit inside. This huge western redcedar shown below is located near Tofino at Kennedy Lake and is a good example of this.
Another main contributing factor to the extraordinarily hollow base to western redcedars is the fact that many grow from nurse logs. A nurse log is a fallen tree that a young tree grows on. A nurse log provides several advantages to a young tree, and the larger the nurse log, the more pronounced the advantages. Growing from a nurse log provides a starting point metres above the ground of the forest and therefore closer to the forest canopy and increases the exposure to sunlight. The huge Western redcedar pictured here likely started its life on an enormous nurse log several metres in diameter, which would explain its huge, sprawling and hollow base that four people could easily fit inside by crouching slightly. The enormous nurse log that fell in this forest, well over 1000 years ago has long ago disintegrated, leaving the hollow under this wonderfully beautiful tree.
P
lants of the Whistler Region is an excellent book that includes great pictures and descriptions of most trees you will find in Whistler. Small enough to fit in your pocket and comprehensive enough to identify most things you will encounter growing in the forests of Whistler. Along with conifer trees and broadleaf trees the book has chapters on flowers, berries, ferns and shrubs. You can find Plants of the Whistler Region on Amazon, the Whistler Library and at Armchair Books in Whistler Village. The author Collin Varner has a wonderful series of Plants of.. books on various regions beyond Whistler. Plants of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Plants of the Gulf and San Juan Islands and Southern Vancouver Island, and Plants of the West Coast Trail. In the last couple years he has started a new series of books. The Flora and Fauna of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest and Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast: British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
Ablation Zone Accumulation Zone Adit Lakes Aiguille Alpine Zone Arborlith Arête ARRTI Armchair Glacier The Barrier Battleship Islands Bears Bench Bergschrund Bivouac Bungee Bridge Bushwhack Cairn Carter, Neal Chimney Cirque Cloudraker Coast Douglas-fir Coast Mountains Col Columnar Jointing Cordilleran Cornice Corrie Lake Crevasse Dalgleish, Alec Deadfall Emerald Forest Erratic The Fissile Fitzsimmons Creek Fitzsimmons Range Fyles, Tom Garibaldi Ranges Garibaldi Volcanic Belt Gemel Glacier Window Green Lake Green Lake Loop Hoary Marmot Krummholz Lodgepole Pine Moraine Mt Garibaldi Mt James Turner Mountain Hemlock Northair Mine North Arm Farm Nunatuk Nurse Stump Overlord Pacific Yew Paper Birch Parkhurst Cat Parkhurst RD8 Parkhurst Cletrac Parkhurst Plow Tree Parkhurst Ridge Parkhurst Sawmill Parkhurst Wye Peak 2 Peak Rainbow Lodge Roundhouse Rubble Creek Scree Spearhead Range Tarn The Table Townsend, Charles Usnea Waterbar Western Hemlock Western Redcedar Whistler Spruce Winram, Mills
Alexander Falls Ancient Cedars Black Tusk Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake Cheakamus River Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs Mount Sproatt Taylor Meadows Train Wreck Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
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