The Last Tree of Ténéré

L'Arbre du Ténéré, known in English as the Tree of Ténéré, was a solitary acacia, of either Acacia raddiana or Acacia tortilus, that was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth — the only one within more than 400km. It was a landmark on caravan routes through the Ténéré region of the Sahara in northeast Niger — so well known that it is the only tree to be shown on a map at a scale of 1:4,000,000. It was located at approximately 17°45′00″N, 10°04′00″E

It was the last surviving tree of a group of trees that grew when the desert was less parched than it is today. The tree had stood alone for decades. During the winter of 1938–9 a well was dug near the tree and it was found that the roots of the tree reached the water table 33–36 meters below the surface.

The tree was knocked down by an allegedly drunk Libyan truck driver in 1973.
It has been replaced by a simple metal sculpture representing a tree

From the Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society
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