California incense cedar

Description:

Very large tree with small scales rather than needles, deeply furrowed bark in old age. In the second photo, this is the frond on the left; the frond on the right is Western Red Cedar for comparison.

Habitat:

Old growth forest of Douglas fir, big leaf maple, western hemlock, western red cedar, etc., near the banks of the McKenzie River at about 2300 feet elevation. In the Delta Campground of the Willamette National Forest, in the Cascade Mountains.

Notes:

This is clearly a cedar or closely related to it; I'm guessing it's an incense cedar. The bark on this tree, unlike that of the western red cedar, splintered off the main trunk in huge splinters with the points up. This particular tree is likely around 600 years old. The black areas on the trunk are likely from an old forest fire.