View source for Kaive Oak

{{Short description|Remarkable oak in Latvia}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Kaive Oak
| iucn_category =
| photo = Kaives ozols.jpg
| photo_caption = [[Postage stamps and postal history of Latvia|Latvia postal stamp]] with Kaive Oak.
| map = Latvia
| label = Kaive Oak
| relief = 1
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| location = [[Latvia]]
| nearest_city = [[Tukums]]
| coordinates = {{coord|57|3|51.5|N|23|1|31.9|E|display=inline,title}}
| coords_ref = <ref name="dabas">[http://www.dabasretumi.lza.lv/Pieminekli/EKoki/ESencu.htm Kaive Oak]</ref>
| area_acre =
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}}
The '''Kaive Oak''' ({{langx|lv|Kaives ozols}}) is an [[oak tree]] (''[[Quercus robur]]'') in [[Sēme Parish]], [[Tukums Municipality]], [[Latvia]]. It is situated about 500&nbsp;m from Kaive Manor, in a meadow. It is protected as a [[natural monument]] in Latvia.<ref name="dabas" />
[[Perimeter]]: 10.4&nbsp;m,<ref name="40gadi" /> height: 18.0&nbsp;m, projection of the crown: 250&nbsp;m², length of branches: up to 13.7&nbsp;m.
It is the thickest tree in Latvia and in all [[Baltic States]].<ref>[http://www.dabasretumi.lv/Pieminekli/Ekoki.htm Outstanding trees in Latvia]</ref>
== History ==
Natural Monument Researcher [[:lv:Guntis Eniņš|Guntis Eniņš]] claims that Kaive Oak is almost 400 years old,<ref name="enins">{{Cite book|last=Eniņš |first=Guntis |title= 100 dižākie un svētākie |year=2008 |publisher=Lauku Avīze |location=Rīga |isbn=9789984827155 |pages=134.–137}}</ref><ref name="enins2">{{Cite book|last=Eniņš|first=Guntis|title= Nezināmā Latvija|year=2015|publisher=Lauku Avīze|location=Rīga|isbn=9789934150791|pages=281.–282}}</ref> not 800–1000 years,<ref name="40gadi">{{in lang|lv}} {{Cite web|url=http://www.kasjauns.lv/lv/zinas/117948/kaives-sencu-ozols---dizakais-baltijas-ozols-kluvis-40-gadu-laiku-par-metru-resnaks|title=Kaives ozols - dižākais Baltijas ozols - 40 gadu laikā kļuvis par metru resnāks|publisher=Kasjauns.lv|accessdate=June 6, 2014}}</ref>
as claimed in some sources, based on the 3&nbsp;mm tree annual or 2.5&nbsp;cm average annual increase in stem thickness.<ref name ="enins"/><ref name ="enins2"/> [[Latvian Land Reform of 1920|In 1920s during agrarian reform in Latvia]] land of Kaive Manor was divided into 32 farms. Land with the ''Kaive oak'' become the property of J. Stroman, who named his farm the ''Senči'' (Ancestors)."<ref name = "enins2" /> [[Lightning]] struck at the top of the tree in the 1920s, leaving on oak only one large branch.<ref name = "40gadi" /> The first publication in the press about this oak is in ''Nedēļa'' (Week) magazine on October 30, 1924:
{{blockquote | "A giant oak, called Senči Oak, is located in Kaive Manor of the Seme Parish, in the young farm of J. Stroman, 13 km from Tukums, in a mountainous area. Separate large oaks scattered around ''Senči'' indicate that there was once an oak forest and, in any case, an ancient site of sacrifice. Oak 28 feet (8.5 m) in circumference. In the middle, there is an empty hole in one side, but it gradually grows closed. Oak still in full green. According to people, there was once a monastery in the nearby Kaive Manor, which was destroyed during the Swedish War. At that time 3 barrels of gold were stored under the oak roots. Due to these stories, we have recently seen "searchers" around the roots of an oak tree, but the roots have grown solid like a cast iron cover."<ref name =" enins2 "/>}}
Eniņš, however, rejects the possibility that such a great oak could have grown in the woods and that the landlord's fields could have been an "ancient site of sacrifice."<ref name = "enins2" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
[[Category:Individual oak trees]]
[[Category:Natural monuments of Latvia]]
[[Category:Individual trees in Latvia]]
[[Category:Tukums Municipality]]