Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, California

Warm light through an ancient forest. Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Trees are not just banks of oxygen and sources of beautification. They also tell us a lot about our roots, quite literally. The giant sequoia, seen here, is an embodiment of the significance of trees. According to the US National Park Service, geological evidence shows that sequoias have one of the oldest lineages of any living thing on earth. Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, pictured here, has hundreds of sequoias that can be as ancient as 3,500 years old.