The Otto Struve Telescope was the first major telescope to be built at McDonald Observatory . Located in the Davis Mountains in West Texas , the Otto Struve Telescope was designed by Warner & Swasey Company and constructed between 1933 and 1939 by the Paterson-Leitch Company . Its 82-inch (2.1 m) mirror was the second largest in the world at the time. It was named after the Ukrainian-American astronomer of Baltic German origin Otto Struve in 1966, three years after his death; Struve had been the director of McDonald Observatory from 1932–1950.
31-472: The Davis Mountains is an excellent location for astronomical research because of the clear dry air and moderately high elevation. The remote nature of the facility proved to be a significant challenge in transporting such a large mirror. It was a very precarious journey for the Otto Struve Telescope's mirror to this remote part of Texas and up to the top of Mount Locke . The mirror was transported from
62-621: A narrow belt along the Himalayas to cover mainland and island Southeast Asia as far as Sumatra , Java , Borneo , and Palawan . Finally, oaks of multiple sections ( Cyclobalanopsis , Ilex , Cerris , Quercus and related genera like Lithocarpus and Castanopsis ) extend across east Asia including China, Korea, and Japan. Potential records of Quercus have been reported from Late Cretaceous deposits in North America and East Asia. These are not considered definitive, as macrofossils older than
93-555: A new moon of planet Neptune , named Nereid . The moon was discovered on photographic plates taken in a search for moons of Neptune. The Otto Struve telescope saw first light in 1939, behind the 100-inch Hooker telescope and ahead of two large British Commonwealth telescopes, both in Canada. Many competing projects were delayed due to the war in the early 1940s. Four largest telescopes in 1939: Mount Locke (Texas) The Davis Mountains , originally known as Limpia Mountains , are
124-485: A range of flavours, colours, and aromas. The spongy bark of the cork oak is used to make traditional wine bottle corks. Almost a third of oak species are threatened with extinction due to climate change, invasive pests , and habitat loss . In culture, the oak tree is a symbol of strength and serves as the national tree of many countries. In Indo-European and related religions, the oak is associated with thunder gods . Individual oak trees of cultural significance include
155-463: A range of mountains in West Texas , located near Fort Davis , after which they are named. The fort was named for then United States Secretary of War and later Confederate President Jefferson Davis . They are a popular site for camping and hiking and the region includes Fort Davis National Historic Site and Davis Mountains State Park . The historical and architectural value of the fort, alongside
186-621: A rough square about 50 km (31 mi) on each side. The mountains are of volcanic origin composed of strata associated with eruptions of the Trans-Pecos Volcanic Field 35 million years ago. The highest peak in the Davis Mountains is Mount Livermore at 2,555 m (8,383 ft) the fifth-highest peak in Texas. The Davis Mountains are a sky island , an isolated mountain range surrounded by desert . The town of Fort Davis at
217-508: A single oak tree produces both staminate ('male') flowers in the form of catkins , and small pistillate ('female') flowers, meaning that the trees are monoecious . The fruit is a nut called an acorn , borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule ; each acorn usually contains one seed and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on the species. The acorns and leaves contain tannic acid , which helps to guard against fungi and insects. There are some 500 extant species of oaks. Trees in
248-546: A small area of the west of Cuba ; in Mesoamerica it occurs mainly above 1000 metres. The genus crossed the isthmus of Panama when the northern and southern continents came together and is present as one species, Q. humboldtii , above 1000 metres in Colombia. The oaks of North America are of many sections ( Protobalanus , Lobatae , Ponticae , Quercus , and Virentes ) along with related genera such as Notholithocarpus . In
279-519: Is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family . They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn , borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; it includes some 500 species, both deciduous and evergreen . Fossil oaks date back to the Middle Eocene . Molecular phylogeny shows that the genus
310-463: Is common in most Northern Hemisphere semiarid climates, the vegetation on the southern slopes of the mountains is noticeably sparser than on the northern slopes. This is due to the greater exposure to the sun on southern slopes, thus warmer temperatures and drier soils. Mixed in with the grassland, and usually at higher elevations, are four woodland and forest zones. First, at elevations below 1,900 m (6,200 ft) and at higher, drier elevations,
341-471: Is divided into Old World and New World clades , but many oak species hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve. Ecologically, oaks are keystone species in habitats from Mediterranean semi-desert to subtropical rainforest . They live in association with many kinds of fungi including truffles . Oaks support more than 950 species of caterpillar , many kinds of gall wasp which form distinctive galls , roundish woody lumps such as
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#1732855065845372-452: Is from Old English ac (seen in placenames such as Acton , from ac + tun , "oak village" ), which in turn is from Proto-Germanic *aiks , "oak". Oaks are hardwood ( dicotyledonous ) trees, deciduous or evergreen, with spirally arranged leaves , often with lobate margins ; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with smooth margins. Many deciduous species are marcescent , not dropping dead leaves until spring. In spring,
403-550: Is only one record of grizzly bears in Texas; it was killed in the Davis Range in 1890. Several private ranches in the Davis Mountains offer hunting opportunities. Nearly all of the Davis Mountains fall into the climate classification of BS (semiarid steppe) in the Köppen climate classification system. However, the highest elevations may transition into a cooler, wetter Cfb climate (subtropical humid with warm summers). Most of
434-453: Is the highest state maintained road in Texas at 6,791 feet near the summit of Mt. Locke where the older telescopes of the observatory are located. Spur 77 branches off from Spur 78 providing access to the newer research equipment atop Mt. Fowlkes. The Texas separatist organization known as the Republic of Texas has its origins in the Davis Mountains. On April 27, 1997, the leader of
465-622: The Paleogene , and possibly from before the Eocene are mostly poorly preserved without critical features for certain identification. Amongst the oldest unequivocal records of Quercus are pollen from Austria, dating to the Paleocene -Eocene boundary, around 55 million years ago. The oldest records of Quercus in North America are from Oregon , dating to the Middle Eocene, around 44 million years ago, with
496-810: The Royal Oak in Britain, the Charter Oak in the United States, and the Guernica Oak in the Basque Country . The generic name Quercus is Latin for "oak", derived from Proto-Indo-European *kwerkwu- , "oak", which is also the origin of the name " fir ", another important or sacred tree in Indo-European culture. The word "cork", for the bark of the cork oak , similarly derives from Quercus . The common name "oak"
527-436: The oak apple , and a large number of pests and diseases. Oak leaves and acorns contain enough tannin to be toxic to cattle, but pigs are able to digest them safely. Oak timber is strong and hard, and has found many uses in construction and furniture-making. The bark was traditionally used for tanning leather . Wine barrels are made of oak; these are used for aging alcoholic beverages such as sherry and whisky , giving them
558-534: The Davis Mountains are under private ownership. However, since 1996, the Nature Conservancy has acquired 33,000 acres (130 km ) in the Davis Mountains range, along with conservation easements on 70,000 adjoining acres (280 km ) of private ranchland. The Davis Mountain Preserve is open to the public at specified times. McDonald Observatory is accessed by Spur 78 from State Highway 118 . Spur 78
589-687: The Old World, oaks of section Quercus extend across the whole of Europe including European Russia apart from the far north, and north Africa (north of the Sahara) from Morocco to Libya. In Mediterranean Europe, they are joined by oaks of the sections Cerris and Ilex , which extend across Turkey, the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan , while section Ponticae is endemic to the western Caucasus in Turkey and Georgia . Oaks of section Cyclobalanopsis extend in
620-750: The base of the cliffs surrounding the summit of Mount Livermore. Aspens are more characteristic of the higher elevations in the Rocky Mountains . The mesic woodlands are remnants of past glacial ages in which the climate of West Texas was more humid and cooler than at present. Over 277 species of birds have been seen at Davis Mountains State Park. Many species found here are characteristic of more northerly mountain climes or alternatively of nearby Mexico, including 10 species of hummingbirds. Large mammals found here include whitetail deer , mule deer , elk , black bear , cougar , pronghorn , peccary , and introduced species such as aoudad and feral hogs . There
651-512: The dominant tree species is the alligator juniper mixed with oak species and pinyon pine . Secondly, woodlands with pinyon pine as the most common species are found on steep slopes at elevations of 1,750 to 2,400 m (5,740 to 7,870 ft). Third, woodlands in which the gray oak is the most common tree and mixed with other oak species are also found on steep slopes at elevations of 1,900 to 2,400 m (6,200 to 7,900 ft). The gray oak woodlands are found in slightly moister soils than
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#1732855065845682-448: The foot of the Davis Mountains has an elevation of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). From that elevation, the sky island rises to 2,555 m (8,383 ft). As the elevation increases, average temperatures decline and precipitation increases, permitting an "island" of forest and other mesic habitat at higher elevations. The most common vegetation of the Davis Mountains is montane grassland, often mixed with scattered bushes and trees. As
713-404: The genus Quercus consisted of Old World and New World clades. The entire genome of Quercus robur (the pedunculate oak) has been sequenced , revealing an array of mutations that may underlie the evolution of longevity and disease resistance in oaks. In addition, hundreds of oak species have been compared (at RAD-seq loci), allowing a detailed phylogeny to be constructed. However,
744-625: The genus are often large and slow-growing; Q. alba can reach an age of 600 years, a diameter of 13 feet (4.0 m) and a height of 145 feet (44 m). The Granit oak in Bulgaria, a Q. robur specimen, has an estimated age of 1637 years, making it the oldest oak in Europe. The Wi'aaSal tree, a live oak in the reservation of the Pechanga Band of Indians , California, is at least 1000 years old, and might be as much as 2000 years old, which would make it
775-530: The group, Rick McLaren, staged an attack on his neighbor's house and demanded that he cede his property to the Republic of Texas. This led to 300 state troopers surrounding his house with his five followers, his wife, the victims of the attack, and him inside for close to a week. Ultimately, one follower was shot in the standoff and McLaren was arrested and imprisoned for the equivalent of a life sentence. Oak See also List of Quercus species . An oak
806-510: The largest number of oak species, with approximately 160 species in Mexico, of which 109 are endemic, and about 90 in the United States. The second greatest area of oak diversity is China, with approximately 100 species. In the Americas, Quercus is widespread from Vancouver and Nova Scotia in the south of Canada, south to Mexico and across the whole of the eastern United States. It is present in
837-509: The local town of Fort Davis up the mountain by Carleton D. Wilson , owner of a local trucking company, while locals cheered as they looked on. The Otto Struve telescope is still in use today. It is updated with modern imaging detectors allowing astronomers to conduct many types of research. The telescope was one of two used to set up and define the Johnson - Morgan UBV photometric system . In 1949, G. Kuiper of Yerkes Observatory discovered
868-547: The oldest oak in the US. Among the smallest oaks is Q. acuta , the Japanese evergreen oak. It forms a bush or small tree to a height of some 30 feet (9.1 m). The genus Quercus is native to the Northern Hemisphere and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas , Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America has
899-855: The oldest records in Asia from the Middle Eocene of Japan; both forms have affinities to the Cyclobalanopsis group. Quercus forms part, or rather two parts, of the Quercoideae subfamily of the Fagaceae , the beech family. Modern molecular phylogenetics suggests the following relationships: Fagus (beeches) Trigonobalanus (3 evergreen species) Lithocarpus (stone oaks) Chrysolepis (chinquapins) Quercus pro parte Notholithocarpus (tan oak) Quercus pro parte Castanopsis (also called chinquapins) Castanea (chestnuts) Molecular techniques for phylogenetic analysis show that
930-418: The pinyon woodlands. The richest and most diverse of the woodlands and forests in the Davis Mountains are the mesic forests found from 1,770 to 2,330 m (5,810 to 7,640 ft). These forests are found in stream valleys and other well-watered areas. Indicator species are ponderosa pine and southwestern white pine , plus two small groves of quaking aspen at elevations of 2,300 m (7,500 ft) at
961-458: The rugged natural environment of the park are a significant destination for tourism in Texas. Most of the land in the Davis Mountains is under private ownership as ranch land, but The Nature Conservancy owns or has conservation easements on more than 100,000 acres (40,000 ha). Rather than being a single coherent range, the Davis Mountains are an irregular jumble of isolated peaks and ridges separated by flatter areas. The mountains occupy