He weighs 13.2 Million Pounds, spans 106 acres and is believed to be 12,000 years old. He is Pando, the trembling giant, and the world’s largest tree. He is a quaking aspen clone, comprised of 40,000 stems which appear to be individual trees but are connected by one massive interwoven root system. It is estimated that his tangled roots would stretch as far as 12;000 miles (halfway around the earth).
What’s most astounding though is the sound that can be heard with even the slightest breeze. Jeff Rice, a sound artist from Seattle describes it beautifully….
“What does Pando sound like? For most people, the sound of an aspen grove is defined by its trembling leaves. For me, as someone who has been around aspens my whole life, this sound is instantly recognizable and almost impossible to describe.
Even creating a working definition is difficult. “It is the sound of the wind on a perfect day,” is one interpretation I have heard. “It is the sound of the West,” is another. It is a “whisper” and a “shimmer.” Some people think it is like “the sound of rain.” There does not appear to be much general agreement. The frog ribbits, the bird chirps, and the bull bellows. What is the voice of Pando?”"
You can hear them here:
https://www.friendsofpando.org/programs/artist-in-residency/jeff-rice-artist-in-residency/
“Pando challenges our basic understanding of the world,” ... “The idea that this giant forest could be a single organism defies our concept of the individual. Its vastness humbles our sense of space.”
