Ancient Survivors: The Lebanon Cedar

The largest surviving natural forests of Lebanon cedars ~ some 247,000 acres/100,000 hectars ~ are now found in the Taurus Mountains of southeast Turkey. In Lebanon, only remnants of the ancient forests remain in a few valleys of the Lebanon Mountain range, by far the largest being the Shouf forest at Barouk. The most famous grove, comprising only some 400 trees, is situated at above 6,200 ft/1,890 meters, near Bcharre' on the slopes of the Mount Lebanon range. The youngest big tree in this grove is said to be about 200 years old, while estimates range from 1,000 to 2,500 years for the dozen or so oldest individuals. Other small cedar forests are also to be found at Tannourine, south of Jabal Aitou, and north of Jabal Qaraqif.