because the trunks are so distorted that new rings may form at right angles to ones formed long before.) But there's much more information to be gleaned from growth rings than simply a tree's age.

Discover the oldest trees in the world, their ages, locations, and unique survival traits. Explore ancient giants like Pando, ...

But few people know that the rings in trees can tell us much more than just a tree’s age. And perhaps even fewer know that there is a field of science dedicated to the study of tree rings.

How could anyone determine the age of such an aged object so ... Every year a new ring of growth is added to a tree's trunk and branches, just beneath the bark. The thickness of this ring depends ...