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Friday, Oct. 24, 2025

Does Colorado have pine trees older than the Roman Empire?

Cassis Tingley, The Colorado Sun
yes

Researchers in Colorado have identified at least four Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines that took root more than 2,100 years ago, predating the ancient Roman Empire. 

Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, or Pinus aristata, can live for up to 3,000 years and are found in dry, cold, high-altitude environments. The U.S. Forest Service has tried to keep the exact locations of the oldest bristlecone pines in the West secret to protect them from vandalism. 

Colorado is home to 14 documented Rocky Mountain bristlecone trees. The oldest of them, growing on Black Mountain or Almagre Mountain near South Park, dates to 442 BCE, making it 2,467 years old this year.

The city of Rome was founded in 753 BCE. It became an empire in 27 BCE, when its senate relinquished military power to Octavian and renamed him Augustus, the first Roman emperor. 

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