Ténéré Tree

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Coordinates: 17°45′00″N 10°04′00″E﻿ / ﻿17.75000°N 10.06667°E﻿ / 17.75000; 10.06667

Tree of Ténéré (1961)

The Ténéré Tree (French: L'Arbre du Ténéré) was a solitary acacia, of either Acacia raddiana[1] or Acacia tortilis,[2] that was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth[3]—the only one for over 400 kilometres (250 mi). It was a landmark on caravan routes through the Ténéré region of the Sahara Desert in northeast Niger, so well known that it and the Arbre Perdu or 'Lost Tree' to the north are the only trees to be shown on a map at a scale of 1:4,000,000. The Tree of Ténéré was located near a 40-metre (131 feet)-deep well. It was knocked down in 1973, supposedly by an apparently drunk truck driver.



Commander of the Allied Military Mission, Michel Lesourd, of the Service central des affaires sahariennes [Central service of Saharan affairs], saw the tree on May 21, 1939:


Death and replacement[edit]

Metal sculpture of the tree (1985)

The Tree of Ténéré was knocked down by an allegedly drunk Libyan truck driver in 1973. On November 8, 1973, the dead tree was moved to the Niger National Museum in the capital Niamey.[4]


In popular culture[edit]

The sculpture representing the Tree of Ténéré and the Tree's story feature prominently in the 2006 film La Gran final (The Great Match). In the film, a group of Tuareg nomads in the Sahara races to find a power supply and broadcast reception for their television in time to watch the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Brazil, eventually using the tree sculpture as a makeshift antenna.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Riedacker, A. (1993). Physiologie des arbres et arbustes en zones arides et semi-arides: séminaire, Paris-Nancy, 20 mars-6 avril 1990 (in French). John Libbey Eurotext. p. 406. ISBN 2-7420-0019-4. Retrieved 2009-08-11. L'Hote (1961) note dans son article sur l'arbre du Ténéré (Acacia raddiana) que l'on aurait retrouvé ses racines à 30 métres de profondeur. 
  2. ^ Le Roy, Robert (1998). Méhariste au Niger: souvenirs sahariens (in French). Karthala Editions. p. 108. ISBN 2-86537-778-4. Retrieved 2009-08-11. It avait fallu à cet acacia tortilis une belle vigueur et une fameuse chance pour subsister là, seul, jusqu'à élever son feuillage hors de portée des gazelles. 
  3. ^ Wagensonner, Eric (2007-01-15). "Eastern Mali to Niger to Timbuktu - 2-19 September 06". Border-Crossings. Retrieved 2009-08-11. 
  4. ^ a b c L'Arbre du Ténéré, Part 2

External links[edit]