Dick's
Juniper Pictures |
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Courtright
Reservoir Kaiser
Pass Area Eastern
Sierra Elsewhere
in California
Other States
More
Photos Links
of Interest Juniper
Slide Show
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New
photos added here August 28
and here October 28,
2019 (captions in red)
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This page is dedicated to
Laurie Lewis, an
extraordinary bluegrass/folk musician, singer and composer,
who never met a juniper tree she didn't love |
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Along
with sequoias, bristlecone pines, and red firs, junipers are my
favorite trees. A very few are tall, straight and full. Most are
twisted and gnarly, with dead branches and tops; sometimes there's just
one live branch on a large, rugged tree. They grow in rocky, high
elevation locations where few other trees can even get a start. Like
Laurie, I'm tempted to photograph every one I see.
There
are three main species pictured here. The Sierra
Juniper (AKA Western Juniper), as its name implies, is native to
California's Sierra Nevada mountains. They are also found in areas
of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. They are divided into two
subspecies, occidentalis in the northern part and australis in the southern part of
their range. Some experts think they are two separate species. I
don't care - I just like seeing and photographing them.
There
are probably trees of two other species shown here. The Utah
Juniper is native to Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and parts of New
Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and extreme eastern
California. In my experience, they tend to grow to a lesser height
than their western cousins, but their overall appearance and growth
patterns are similar. The Rocky
Mountain Juniper occupies much of the same territory, but
extends into Canada, Texas and Mexico. They are the smallest of the
three species I've encountered, and in areas outside the Sierra, I
don't know which one I'm seeing.
Information
on the age of these trees is confusing. The tree considered to be
the oldest and largest is "possibly 3,000 years old." Another
source gives the typical age at maturity as 1,000 years.
Individual trees have been verified
to be as much as 2,600 years old. The oldest verified Rocky Mountain
specimen is 1,500 years of age.
Hug
a tree, but be careful if it's a juniper. The reddish bark of the
western species, and the grayish bark of the others is stringy and
rough, part of what makes these conifers such a visual delight.
--Dick
Estel, September 2016 |
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Click photo for a larger
view (pictures open in a new window) |
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The
Junipers of Courtright Reservoir
At 8,000 feet elevation, surrounded by domes,
granite cliffs, and glacier-scoured bedrock, this area offers the
perfect habitat for some of my favorite junipers. In the top four rows are
four trees I photographed in 1970, and again in 2016. There
is not much change, testimony to slow growth and the ability to
weather adversity once they are well established. |
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Probably
the first juniper I ever photographed, about 1970 |
2016
photo of the same tree |
A
slightly different angle |
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Tree
below the Maxson Trailhead road, photographed on a hike about 1970 |
This
tree has filled out on top over the course of 45 years |
It
has a hole through the base |
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This
tree is above the road on a rock cliff; I call it the Shelf Juniper |
It's
distinctive shape made it easy to locate for a 2016 photo |
A
wider view of the tree's location |
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This
tree hasn't suffered much "pruning" from the elements |
The
passage of 45 years has thinned the branches slightly |
A
closer look at the top of the tree |
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How those ancient
junipers start out
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Another
"youngster" |
Base of an ancient,
living juniper |
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The
Sentinel: It's ancient, it's
gnarly, it's dead |
The mossy top of the
dead juniper |
The
dead tree stands in front of a 15 foot high rock cliff |
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Tree
along the road a short distance before the dam |
Detail of bark on
a live tree |
More
bark beauty |
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The
striking red bark has caused junipers to be called "red
cedar"
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A
wider view of the rugged base |
A
bit of bark still clings to this weathered trunk
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One
of my favorite scenes in the entire area
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A
fairly straight and full tree above the trailhead parking lot |
Taking
a closer look |
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Pondering
how the rock got up in the tree |
The
most probable theory - the rock fell from the cliff above |
A
rare straight, tall juniper |
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Big
juniper near the LeConte Overlook |
A
longer view of the overlook tree |
This
tree at the base of Constant Dome appears to be dead |
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But
a closer look reveals some life |
This
one is small in size, but the trunk reflects many years facing the
elements |
Dead
top rises above this rugged tree on the slope above camp |
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I
almost didn't walk down to this tree below the road, but was glad I
did |
The
broken top has been replaced by multiple tops |
Not
very tall, but clearly strong against the winter winds |
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This
tall, straight specimen almost looks like a Sequoia |
Teri
stands by this tree to give perspective on its size |
A
closer look |
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Gnarly
dead juniper above the Kings River North Fork canyon |
Close-up
of juniper foliage |
A
close-up of the trunk of the Sentinel Juniper |
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A
bunch of junipers growing together |
The
Big Four - similar in size, tall and straight, but junipers
nevertheless |
This
tree hit the ceiling and grew sideways |
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The
Bull Juniper - one of the finest specimens in the area |
Looking
down on the top of the Bull Juniper |
The
top as seen from down on the same level as the tree |
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Juniper
in the rocks at the base of Double Dome |
This
one is just west of the trail, a quarter mile in from the parking
lot |
Along
the "Juniper Trail" west of camp |
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Dead
juniper just south of our camp |
Another
view of the Bull Juniper |
Rock
scramblers on the shelf below the Sentinel Tree |
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The
late afternoon sun gives a special
glow to Teri's Juniper |
We
call this one the Bull Juniper's
Upstairs Neighbor |
The Sentinel Juniper in black and
white, 2019
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The
top of the Bull Juniper shows how the old patriarch has weathered
the centuries |
The
Big Four from the west |
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Kaiser
Pass Area
From Huntington Lake at 7,000 feet, a narrow paved road goes up
over 9,000 foot Kaiser Pass, then into the drainage of the San
Joaquin River's South Fork. Here you will find Lake Edison, Lake
Florence, and Mono Hot Springs Resort. Along the road and in the
surrounding rocks are many fine examples of these magnificent trees |
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Junipers thrive in
the rocky areas around Mono Hot Springs |
Harsh winters keep the trees
"pruned" |
I
just kept taking pictures of this tree |
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Juniper
on the Kaiser Pass Road just west of the pass |
Another
look at the Kaiser Pass trees |
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Eastern Sierra
The June
Lake Loop just west of US Highway 395 on the eastern side
of the Sierra, just above the 7,500 foot level, is host to a
number of striking junipers. It's a great place for camping,
hiking, swimming, fishing and just relaxing (and taking
pictures of junipers!) |
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Rugged
juniper on June Lake Loop near Mono Lake |
This
one has an extra-thick trunk |
Another good size
juniper near a trail out of Silver Lake |
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It has a massive limb
hanging out below the trail |
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Elsewhere
in California
The junipers here were photographed in either Joshua Tree
National Monument or the Mojave National Preserve unless otherwise
indicated
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A
very gnarly, tangled dead tree in Joshua Tree National Park |
Thick,
bushy specimen with a good crop of berries |
Close
look at juniper berries (they are actually cones) |
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This
tree at a high point in the Mojave National Preserve shelters a blooming
cactus |
Sage
brush and junipers in Lava Beds National Monument |
A
horizontal juniper above the Kings River North Fork |
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More
junipers
above Granite Gorge and Hell Hole on the North Fork of the Kings River |
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Other
States
These are mostly Utah Junipers, with possibly a Rocky Mountain
specimen here and there |
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Rugged juniper
along US Highway 6 in Nevada |
Juniper
in Great Basin National Park, Nevada |
Another
specimen in Great Basin |
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A
multi-trunk juniper, Grand Canyon North Rim
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Tree
near Walhalla Overlook shows
typical gray trunk of the Utah species |
Along
the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon |
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Teri
and a hardy juniper on the Delicate
Arch Trail, Arches National Park |
Near
the Windows area of Arches National Park |
View
of juniper tree looking
out through Navajo Arch |
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Near
Double Arch |
Near
Broken Arch |
Utah
Juniper in Canyonlands National Park
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Corral of juniper branches
at
Dead Horse State Park, Utah |
Juniper
and white sandstone along I-70 |
Juniper
in the Echo Park section
of Dinosaur National Monument |
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At
the Plug Hat Picnic Area
in Dinosaur National Monument |
Small
stand of junipers in the Monument |
A
lowdown juniper in the Monument |
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Tree in Echo Park |
Another
Echo Park tree |
In the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park |
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Juniper along
the Emerald Pools
Loop Trail in Zion National Park
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One of many
delightful rugged
Utah junipers along the trail |
Sculptured
root along Emerald Pool Trail |
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Juniper on Devil's Garden Trail,
Arches National Park
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Twisted
Utah juniper near Balanced Rock |
Another
Arches National Park juniper |
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Juniper
at Sunset Point in Capitol
Reef
National Park, Utah |
Another
Balanced Rock area juniper |
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Links
of Interest |
Sierra
Juniper |
Utah
Juniper |
Rocky
Mountain Juniper |
Photos |
Photos |
Photos |
Junipers
in the USA |
Dick's
Conifer Photos |
USDA
Guide Rocky Mountain Juniper |
Grow
Your Own |
Great
Basin National Park |
Dinosaur
National Monument |
June
Lake Loop |
Grand
Canyon National Park |
Arches
National Park |
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Canyonlands
National Park |
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