Olive grove, Valle d'Itria, Puglia, Italy
© Massimo Santi/Shutterstoc
Beneath ancient olive trees. Celebrating World Olive Tree Day
Today, we're not just offering you an olive branch—we've got the whole tree. November 26 is World Olive Tree Day, so we're taking some time to appreciate this amazing plant. Olive trees were first cultivated in the eastern Mediterranean around 8,000 years ago. From there, they were introduced to the Greek islands and mainland by the Phoenicians, then farther afield, reaching Spain and the western edge of the Mediterranean by around 1000 BCE. The olive branch has been a symbol of peace since ancient times, and olive trees have been grown for their oil, wood, and fruit for millennia.
Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Paro Taktsang, a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan
Loisach River at Lake Kochelsee, Bavaria, Germany
Kilchurn Castle reflected in Loch Awe, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Red deer stag in the Caledonian Forest, Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
Vancouver Coastal Sea wolves in Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada
Madame Sherri Forest and the ruins of an old castle, New Hampshire
Wooden path to Kennedy Lake, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
