The roots of Prescott

Though I cursed whoever was to blame for cutting down this beautiful old sycamore at the corner of McCormick and Gurley, I understand the reason. Take a look at the bit of sidewalk to the right and note the crack; just the sort of sight to give the city's attorney visions of lawsuits.

The fact is that the Arizona sycamore may be a lovely streetside tree. BUT. Our native sycamore is given to shallow and surface roots, which play havoc with sidewalks, streets and other manmade constructs. Note how far the roots of this big tree spread; if you look carefully at this Sharlot Hall lawn, you will see barren spots beneath which more roots are growing.

Nor are sycamores the only trees to spread out their roots. The specimen above and below is in the small park at the junction of Gurley and Sheldon.

Here's another tree in the same park with a good supply of surface anchors. I wonder the reason: maybe something to do with our rocky subsurface or the necessity of soaking up every little bit of rainfall that happens?

Even our towering Ponderosa pines grow a shallow root system, plus a deep tap root. You can see the obstacles that a pine must overcome below.

A street cut through our local granite revealed this root about a foot below the surface. It probably belongs to a nearby scrub oak.

For picture purposes, creekside trees are perhaps the most interesting. I thank my dotter for thinking to take these images on the February afternoon we spent out at Lynx Lake.

Is this how the trees just grow naturally -- or are we witness to many years of erosion by seasons of heavy run-off?