An Introduction to Geocaching event will be held at the Big Cypress
State Park on September 29, 2007. During the event, geocachers will
explain our sport and escort non-geocachers to the geocaches placed
within the park. The the event will be made public in two area
newspapers. The event will begin at 10 am sharp.
Coordinates are near the entrance of the park.
This 330-acre natural area lies in the floodplain of the Middle
Fork of the Obion River in West Tennessee.
Visitors to the 330-acre Big Cypress Tree State Park in the
natural area will find a clean and peaceful park where they can
relax and enjoy nature. Having a picnic in the picnic shelter is a
popular activity. A variety of plant life ranging from native wild
flowers to native trees may be seen here. Examples are showy
evening primrose, Black-eyed Susans, yellow poplar, bald cypress,
and dogwood. Wildlife seen at Big Cypress includes bluebirds,
doves, hawks, owls, deer, squirrels, butterflies, bats, and many
others.
The park is named for the national champion bald cypress tree
that once lived on the park. The tree was the largest bald cypress
in the U.S.A. and the largest tree of any species east of the
Mississippi River. The tree's diameter was 13 feet and its
circumference was 40 feet. The tree lived to be 1,350 years old
before lightning struck and killed the tree in 1976. The lightning
knocked the top out of the tree and the tree smoldered for two
weeks. The tree is no longer standing at this time and cannot be
seen from the two mile long bottomland trail that once led visitors
to a place where the tree could be observed. The trail itself is
now closed.