![[Color photograph of Wye Oak]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/tree2.jpg)
Decidedly uncommon is the magnificant specimen of White Oak represented here. It is known as the Wye Oak, and located at Wye Mills in Talbot County on the Eastern Shore.
Wye Oak, Talbot County, Maryland, 1997.
Photo by Tom Darden, courtesy of Secretary of State.
![[Color photograph of Wye Oak]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/images/tree.gif)
Estimated to be nearly 500 years old, the Wye Oak is the largest white oak tree on record, both in Maryland and the nation. It measures 31 feet, 2 inches, in circumference, stands 79 feet tall, and has a crown spread of 102 feet. The Wye Oak is one of only two trees surviving as a National Champion since inception of the National Big Tree Register in 1945. Among its impressive characteristics are massive buttresses or "knees" at the base which help support this huge tree.
Wye Oak, Talbot County, Maryland, 1971.
© Copyright April 10, 2001 Maryland State Archives