Northwest Palms

Palms in the tsunami?

In the rare moments when one turns from the horror stories of the tsunami, and looks at other parts of the pictures, it is fascinating -- and of course, awful -- to see concrete building foundations torn away, but myriad palm trees still standing. Why? What makes them able to withstand such tremendous forces?

The following thread was started by Sharlene in White Rock on December 29, 2004 at 10:57 pm PST

Its down to surface area, a palm tree trunk is relatively thin compared to a nice flat sided object. Palms also bend very well absorbing the impact and minimising surface area even more.Also they have good roots like 1 "kazillion" fingers gripping the ground. Flat buildings just sit there and take the full brunt of it. If I was there Id have been up those trees faster than a monkey.

The above followup was added by paul on December 30, 2004 at 8:29 am PST.

Some were ripped up when the roots were washed away and I cant help but think quite a few will be doomed by salt water pollution.

The above followup was added by Nigel on December 30, 2004 at 10:31 am PST.

I was thinking the same thing upon seeing the devasted areas on TV. Palm trees must have evolved over the millenia to withstand the worst nature can throw at them. Tropical regions often have volitle weather. When I was in Mexico last week there were palm trees whose roots were exposed by a huricane that had passed throw some months back and I was surprised at how well anchored the roots were. The narrow trunk offers a low wind/water resistance as well and they yield under strong pressures and bounce back. Remarkable trees really.

The above followup was added by Blake in NVan on December 30, 2004 at 10:46 am PST.

I recently visited the Borrego palm canyon in southern California. Most of the wild filiferas there were destroyed by a major flash flood in September. Their trunks are strewn about the canyon. Some were uprooted while others simply snapped off near the base. There is still one nice big clump of palms remaining, but the trail to them is mostly washed out. It's really too bad, since they must have taken hundreds of years to grow.

The above followup was added by Ian on December 30, 2004 at 11:07 pm PST.

Palms are species with attributes which enable their survival in such hazardous environments

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