“This tree here is about 12 feet bigger around than Canada’s biggest eastern cottonwood tree, so to me that means we have the largest eastern cottonwood tree on earth,” Alan Bartels said.

Sierra Leone has been dealt a “great loss,” the country’s leader said Thursday, after its Cotton Tree, which served as a symbol of national freedom, was brought down.

A giant tree that towered over Sierra Leone's capital for centuries and symbolized freedom to its residents came down during a heavy rainstorm. Standing over 200 feet tall and nearly 50 feet wide ...

A bulldozer clears the fallen Cotton Tree in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone, Thursday May 25, 2023. Sierra Leone’s centuries-old iconic Cotton Tree, seen as a symbol of liberty and freedom by ...

Pibel Lake Recreation Area is home to the Lower Loup Natural Resource District, geese and as of February 2025, the largest known cottonwood tree in Wheeler County.