Have you heard of the Tree of Ténéré? It was a small, scrubby acacia that earned its fame by being the only tree for hundreds of miles in a vast open swath of the Sahara. Its solitary existence made it a significant landmark that guided travelers to water and reassured them that they were on the right path.
Unfortunately, this happened:
Can you imagine driving into the only obstacle in miles of empty desert? Most sources, like the clipping below, say the incident happened in 1973. But the clipping above is from 1969, so who knows when we really lost the world’s loneliest tree?
Find more on the Ténéré Tree with a search on Newspapers.com.