Angel Oak

A 1,400 Year Old Lowcountry Treasure

Description

No visit to Charleston would be complete without a visit to the area's oldest living resident. About 1,400 years old, the Angel Oak has a few years on its Lowcountry neighbors and has seen more history than could fill a series of textbooks. While most of the area's live oak trees were harvested in the 18th and 19th centuries for shipbuilding, this hardy specimen survived and now measures roughly 65 feet tall and more than 25 feet in circumference. On a sweltering summer day, this is the tree to park yourself under; there are 17,000 square feet of shade under its wide canopy, with the longest outstretched limb reaching out 89 feet. The land where the tree grows has gone through a series of hands, but it now belongs to the City of Charleston.