Tree-Cedars of God Blue TB

I maintain records on my trackables. They have the goal to circulate more than five years and to be moved by at least 25 cachers. That is a target rate of five drops per year for five years, or a drop every 73 days. The average drop rate of my trackables in the US is 115 days, in Europe it is 65 days. As of 2-May-22 this one has survived for 4.7 years and had been moved by 4 cachers, for an average drop every 430 days. /strong> Please keep it moving!

This is one of a series of wooden rings named for famous, unusual trees.

The Cedars of God is one of the last vestiges of the extensive forests of the Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani ) that thrived across Mount Lebanon in ancient times. Their timber was exploited by the Phoenicians, the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians. The wood was prized by Egyptians for shipbuilding; the Ottoman Empire also used the cedars in railway construction. 

Concern for the biblical "cedars of God" goes back to 1876, when the 102-hectare (250-acre) grove was surrounded by a high stone wall, paid for by Queen Victoria, to protect saplings from browsing by goats. Nevertheless during World War I, British troops used cedar to build railroads.

Time, along with the exploitation of the Cedars’ wood, has led to a decrease in the number of Cedar trees in Lebanon.  However Lebanon is still known for its Cedars, as they are the emblem of the country and the symbol of the Lebanese flag.  The trees survive in mountainous areas, where they are the dominant tree species. This is the case on the slopes of Mount Makmel that tower over the Kadisha Valley, where the Cedars of God are found at an altitude of more than 6,600 ft.  Four trees have reached a height of 115 ft.  In 1998, the Cedars of God were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.