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Gary Hebert | all galleries >> Beauty of Alberta >> Alberta Landmarks & Historic Sites > Burmis Tree
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JUL-2006 © 2006 Gary Hebert

Burmis Tree

Crowsnest Pass, Alberta

Burmis Tree - This rare Limber Pine is one of the most famous and most photographed trees in Alberta (some say the most photographed tree in the world). It was sentenced to perch on a ridge along Highway 3, in Southern Alberta, Canada, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains (11 km (6 mi.) E of the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre), for over 300 years. Its needles were lost in 1978; Chinook winds toppled it in 1998; it was vandalized in 2004. It suffers by living, by acts of love, and by acts of violence. Unfortunately, the Burmis Tree is the only point of interest left of the once prosperous coal mining and lumber town of Burmis.

Olympus E-500 ,Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital ,Hoya Pro1 Cir Pol
1/125s f/5.6 at 22.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Tina Martin 27-Aug-2018 15:02
Wow, would love to see that!
Tim 17-Jan-2018 05:45
My dad has photos of this tree taken on high resolution slides from back in the 70's when it was alive and full of needles. You can scour the Internet and not come across a single high res photo of the tree when it was still living.
Guest 15-Jan-2018 13:00
My grandparents owned the land for 45 years. My grandmother was the post mistress there for that time . The house was about 80 feet from the tree.. I remember climbing that tree in 195. It was a big part of our lives.
Les Friesen 06-Jul-2017 00:03
I've seen professional photographers and artists "shooting" the tree, so did it myself this summer, lining it up so the support rod wouldn't show. What a symbol of grace through agony!
Julie Oldfield13-Jan-2014 19:08
Beautiful.
Brenda Lee 09-Jan-2013 02:50
My father was born and raised in this area and moved to Ontario when he was 16. My husband and I travelled to Alberta in September 2012 and visited this site. We took this exact picture. I salute the people of the Crows Nest Pass for their determination to keep this as an historical site. Thank you Gary for this post!
Guest 26-May-2011 04:47
It is standing today - May 25, 2011.
Karla Bear 13-Sep-2010 00:34
Beautiful picture...we stopped there today and took a pic but sadly, it is no longer standing. It is a haunting site, as is the site of the slide at Frank.
Beverly Wickersham07-Jul-2006 13:28
Nice shot, and a great story of perseverance.
tomsview07-Jul-2006 06:47
Beautiful shot!
Yi Feng07-Jul-2006 03:10
Beautiful capture! Love the tree!
Peter Stahl07-Jul-2006 02:56
Very interesting and super composition and shot! Excellent Gary!