Tongass National Forest. Photo by Henry Hartley. Wikimedia Commons.

Centuries before chainsaws were invented and logging corporations founded, the towering trees of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest were growing. Trees that soar to the sky today were already shooting into adolescence when Columbus sailed the seas. The gentle giants amaze visitors with their arresting size — some trunks are as big as dining room tables — but these rare trees are a disappearing breed. Read more