El Árbol del Tule (The Tree of Tule) is a tree located in the church grounds in the town center of Santa María del Tule in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

It is a Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum), and has the stoutest #tree trunk in the world.

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In 2005, its trunk had a circumference of 42.0 m, equating to a diameter of 14.05 m.

The diameter of the 'smoothed out' trunk is 9.38 m.

The height is difficult to measure due to the very broad crown; the 2005 measurement, made by laser, is 35.4 m.

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The age is unknown.
The best scientific estimate based on growth rates is 1,433-1,600 years.

Local Zapotec legend holds it was planted abt 1,400 yrs ago by Pechocha, a priest of the Aztec wind god (this is in broad agreement with the scientific estimate).

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The tree is occasionally nicknamed the "Tree of Life" from the images of animals, reputedly visible in its gnarled trunk.

In 1990, it was reported the tree is slowly dying because its roots have been damaged by water shortages, pollution, and traffic.

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Image1: Full width of trunk
Image 2: Full view of the Árbol del Tule
Reference➡️ https://bit.ly/393MncD 

Image 3: Detail of branches in theTule tree.
Reference➡️ https://bit.ly/3hJucNn 
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