Cameron Lake in Nanaimo, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast (North America)

The Big Tree

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, September 5, 2026

1. The Big Tree Marker

Inscription.
The largest tree in the park is this giant Douglas-fir. It is over 800 years old, 76 m tall and 9 m round. It was over 300 years old when Christopher Columbus came to North America in 1492.

Douglas-fir is one of Canada’s oldest living tree species and can live to be over 1000 years old.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Horticulture & Forestry. A significant historical year for this entry is 1492.

Location. 49° 17.458′ N, 124° 39.647′ W. Marker is in Cameron Lake, British Columbia, in Nanaimo. It can be reached from Alberni Highway (British Columbia Route 4), on the right when traveling east. Marker is located within MacMillan Provincial Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cameron Lake BC V9K 1S5, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Vancouver Island.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

on the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony.

Other nearby markers. At least 7 other markers are within 13 kilometers of this

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marker, measured as the crow flies: Nature’s Cathedral (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Forests: Our Future (about 120 meters away); David Douglas (1799-1834) (about 150 meters away); Cathedral Trail (about 150 meters away); Trees for Tomorrow (about 210 meters away); Forest Industry in British Columbia / L’Industrie Forestiere en Colombie-Britannique (approx. 12.9 kilometers away); Bicentennial of the Spanish Expeditions to the Northwest Coasts of America (approx. 12.9 kilometers away).

More about this marker. On the left side of the marker is a picture of the Big Tree 76 m next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa 56 m. It has a caption of “The Leaning Tower of Pisa, one of Europe’s most famous landmarks, is dwarfed by the size of the Big Tree.” At the right is a picture of the cross section of a tree trunk with the caption “Tree age can be determined by counting the number of rings on a burl or by a core sample from a living tree.”

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, September 5, 2026

2. The Big Tree Marker

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, September 5, 2026

3. The Big Tree Marker

The Big Tree in Cathedral Grove image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, September 5, 2026

4. The Big Tree in Cathedral Grove

Credits. This page was last revised on September 17, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 17, 2026, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 17, 2026, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.