Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
| Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest | |
| Protected Area | |
 The Methuselah Grove trail in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Inyo National Forest |
| Parts | Methuselah Grove Schulman Memorial Grove |
| Location | White Mountains, Inyo County, California |
| - coordinates | 37°23′8.42″N 118°10′43.91″W / 37.3856722°N 118.1788639°WCoordinates: 37°23′8.42″N 118°10′43.91″W / 37.3856722°N 118.1788639°W |
| Highest point | |
| - elevation | 3,410 m (11,188 ft) |
| Lowest point | |
| - elevation | 3,000 m (9,843 ft) |
| Area | 43.75 sq mi (113 km2) |
| Biome | Central Basin and Range ecoregion |
| Plant | Pinus longaeva – Great Basin Bristlecone Pine |
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California. The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet (3,000–3,400 m) above sea level, in xeric alpine conditions, protected within the Inyo National Forest.Foxtail Pine (Pinus balfouriana) also grow in the forest.
The Methuselah Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is the location of the "Methuselah", a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine that is 4,848 years old. For many years, it was the world's oldest known living non-clonal organism, until superseded by the discovery in 2013 of another bristlecone pine in the same area with an age of 5,066 years (germination in 3051 BC). "Methuselah" is not marked in the forest, to ensure added protection from vandals.
The forest is east of the Owens Valley, high on the eastern face of the White Mountains in the upper Fish Lake-Soda Spring Watershed, above the northernmost reach of the Mojave Desert into Great Basin ecotone. The forest's mountain habitat is in the Central Basin and Range ecoregion (EPA) and Taiga and Boreal forest ecoregion (WWF). The Patriarch Grove is the source of Cottonwood Creek, a designated Wild and Scenic River.
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