The Lone Cypress

Seeded around 1750 on a granite headland above Carmel Bay, this Monterey cypress has spent centuries being bent by Pacific wind and salt spray into something that looks less like a tree than like an argument with the weather. It's one of the most photographed trees in North America, trademarked by the Pebble Beach Company since 1919. The Monterey cypress grows naturally only here and at Point Lobos — nowhere else on earth. Find it at Stop 16 on 17-Mile Drive.