Linden Oak

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After the 2002 loss of the famous Wye Oak in Wye Mills, Maryland, the 275-year-old Linden Oak in North Bethesda, Maryland, has, by some reckonings, become the largest white oak tree in the United States.

Located beside the junction of Rockville Pike and Rock Creek Park's Beach Drive, the tree has variously been described as the largest in Montgomery County; the 4th largest in Maryland; and the largest in the United States. According to the National Registry of Big Trees[1], a tree in Virginia with a height of 86 feet and a crown spread of 116 feet, is the largest white oak in the country. But at a height of 95 feet and a crown spread of 132 feet --when measured in 1976 -- it seems the Linden Oak could replace the national champion.

Owing to the efforts of Montgomery County Council member Idamae Garrott, a local politician and champion of the environment, the Washington Metro track arcs around the tree in order to preserve the site.