NASA Moon Trees - Douglas-fir

The Apollo 14 Mission's Douglas-fir Moon Trees are currently found in the following U.S. states: Arizona, northern California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. See the map above showing where the majority of Douglas-fir trees are located in the United States. Please note that Douglas-fir trees are commonly used in landscaping and may be found in parks, arboreta, yards, and other locations well-outside their native range.

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), also called red-fir, Oregon-pine, Douglas-spruce, and piño Oregon (Spanish), is one of the world's most important and valuable timber trees. It has been a major component of the forests of western North America since the mid-Pleistocene (30). Although the fossil record indicates that the native range of Douglas-fir has never extended beyond western North America, the species has been successfully introduced in the last 100 years into many regions of the temperate forest zone (31). Two varieties of the species are recognized: P. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii, called coast Douglas-fir, and P. menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco, called Rocky Mountain or blue Douglas-fir. (Source: USDA Forest Service )

How to identify Douglas-fir trees:

Douglas-fir trees are evergreen pine trees with a narrow, pyramid-shaped crown. The needles grow singly (as opposed to clusters) and are about an inch long. Douglas-fir trees produce thin, 3-4 inch long cones with rounded scales. To learn more and see additional photos, see: 

Douglas-fir | Forestry | Extension | USU 

Douglas-fir | Virginia Tech Dendrology 

Several free apps will help you identify tree species, including LeafSnap , iNaturalist , or Pl@ntNet . 

Example Images of Douglas Fir Trees:

Left image: Douglas-fir tree (Credit: USDA Forest Service); upper right: Douglas-fir bark (Credit: Utah State University Forestry Extension); lower right: Douglas-fir cones and needles (Credit: Utah State University Forestry Extension).

How to participate in the quest for Douglas-fir trees:

1. Identify Douglas-fir trees and measure their height (and circumference if you have a tape measure) with the Trees tool in the GLOBE Observer app. Make sure you clearly see the top and bottom of the tree and that you can walk to the base of the tree from an origin point of 25-75 feet away from the tree. Before submitting your observation, please type "#MoonTree" in the comment box.

2. The app will notify you if you are within a certain distance from from an existing Apollo 14 Douglas-fir Moon Tree. If you are able to find a specific Apollo 14 Douglas-fir Moon Tree, please take a tree height observation (and optional tree circumference). Please type "#MoonTree"  in the comment box.

Note: Our information regarding the location and status of the existing Apollo 14 Moon Trees is based on the NASA Moon Trees Archive . Some information may have changed since the latest update in the archive or the information may lack precision. Also, there may be Moon Trees for which we don’t have a confirmed location. Some are included in the Moon Trees Archive, but there may be more. Please send us updates, including information about Moon Trees not on our list, through our contact form. Thank you!

Accessible Apollo 14 Douglas-fir Moon Trees:

(Click on the links below to learn more about each of the Apollo 14 Moon Trees from the NASA Moon Trees Archive)

New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico. State Capitol Building . Latitude: 35.682, Longitude: -105.9397. 490 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Oregon

Corvallis, Oregon. Peavy Hall Oregon State University . Latitude: 44.5642, Longitude: -123.285. Peavy Hall, 3100 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97333

Eugene, Oregon. Erb Memorial Union University of Oregon. Latitude: 44.0423, Longitude: -123.0599. 1615 Fairmount Blvd, Eugene, OR 97403

Rosebud, Oregon. U.S. Veteran's Hospital. Latitude: 43.2322, Longitude: -123.3694. Centennial Dr, Roseburg, OR 97471

Salem, Oregon. State Capital Building. Latitude: 44.9392, Longitude: -123.0316. Capitol Building at State St NB, Salem, OR 97301

Washington

Olympia, Washington. State Capitol Building. Latitude: 47.037, Longitude: -122.9013. Tivoli Fountain, State Capitol Building; 1285 Capitol Way, Olympia, WA 98501

To see the locations of all known Moon Trees, visit the NASA Moon Trees Archive . We extend a special thank you to Dr. David Williams, Acting Head, NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Planetary Scientist, Planetary Data System Management Office, and Curator of the NASA Moon Trees Archive, without which the NASA Moon Trees Quest would not be possible. The NASA Moon Trees Archive includes more about the history of the Apollo 14 Moon Trees, descriptions of individual Moon Trees, and associated resources.