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A giant oak

Wildlands Conservancy naturalists and volunteers climb on a canyon live oak tree located in a meadow surrounded by steep slopes in the Oak Glen area of the San Bernardino Mountains. The tree was confirmed to be the largest oak in North America.

Wildlands Conservancy naturalists and volunteers climb on a canyon live oak tree located in a meadow surrounded by steep slopes in the Oak Glen area of the San Bernardino Mountains. The tree was confirmed to be the largest oak in North America.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Wildlands Conservancy naturalists believe they have discovered the largest oak in North America. The oak’s trunk is 12.2 feet in circumference and is located in a meadow surrounded by steep slopes in the Oak Glen area of the San Bernardino Mountains.

The largest oak

Wildlands Conservancy naturalists and volunteers survey the champion oak.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Age unknow

It is impossible to guess how many centuries the tree has stood on the steep, rocky hillside overlooking a narrow stream-fed canyon thick with incense cedars, canyon maples and bracken fern.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Measuring a giant

Wildlands Conservancy preserve manager Evan Welsh, left, and volunteer Paul Melzer measure the tree’s circumference.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Splendid isolation

“Left alone, oaks are incredibly persistent and able to withstand hardships, lightning, rock falls, floods, wildfires, temperature swings and fungal infections with beauty and grace,” said Rosi Dagit, senior conservation biologist for the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A remote canyon

Wildlands Conservancy naturalists and volunteers hike through a remote canyon to reach North America’s largest oak tree.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Measuring a giant

A volunteer Jack Yeaton, left, Wildlands Conservancy director David Myers, preserve manager Evan Welsh, assistant manager Doug Chuddy and conservative director April Sall measure and calculate the height of the tree. The oak’s trunk measured to be 499 inches in circumference and 97 feet high, making it the largest in North America.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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