The Árbol del Tule (The Tule Tree), is the tree with the largest diameter of any tree in the world.
It is a Montezuma Cypress (Ahuehuete in the Nahuatl language) and has a diameter of 11.42 m (circumference 35.87 m), and a height of 43 meters.
It is located in the church grounds in the town center of Santa María del Tule , Oaxaca, Mexico, approximately 13 km from the city of Oaxaca, on the road to Mitla.
Its age is unknown, with estimates ranging between 1200-3000 years. Local Zapotec legend holds that it was planted about 1400 years ago by Pechocha, a priest of Ehecatl, the Aztec storm-god; its position on a sacred site (later taken over by the Roman Catholic church) would tend to support this.
For additional descriptions and photographs see:
Last updated: 05-23-2005 12:15:50
