Triangle question

[Shellback]

Been 51 years since I finished high school, so I'm a lot slow to think now. I'm trying to determine the height of a tree. If you have a triangle and the base and height are the same measurement, would the angle of the slope be 45 degrees? What I have done so far is that I have have my transit set up 101 feet from the base of the tree. When I adjust it to a 45 degree angle, I'm just seeing the top of the tree. If the slope of the angle in the triangle is 45 degrees, my tree should be 101 feet tall.

[Bill Krejca]

Yeah, you have the right idea. Wow, that is a pretty tall tree. Edit: You would have to take into account the height of the transit from the ground, I think -I don't know anything about a transit, perhaps this can be adjusted for the height. Otherwise, it would not exactly be a triangle, and the tree would be a little shorter.
Bill

[REW]

Shell,
Correct.
If you back away from the tree far enough so that you have a 45 degree angle between the ground and the top of the tree, the distance from the tree to the spot will be equal to the height of the tree.

Remember, if you are using a transit that is on a 5 feet tripod, you are adding 5 feet to the top of the tree that needs to be subtracted from your height, since you are not measuring from the ground; but rather 5 feet above the ground.


https://www.brightstorm.com/math/tri...-90-triangles/

[BCLII]

Originally Posted by Bill Krejca

Yeah, you have the right idea. Wow, that is a pretty tall tree. Edit: You would have to take into account the height of the transit from the ground, I think -I don't know anything about a transit, perhaps this can be adjusted for the height. Otherwise, it would not exactly be a triangle, and the tree would be a little shorter.
Bill

Yes, take into account the height of the transit. Then add that height to the number making your tree taller. The transit sight is the base or zero of the right triangle. Yes very tall tree!

[eriksat1]

This is what the foresters use around here a "Clinometer" I had one for installing satellite dishes to make sure I was in a location to clear the tree tops, it came with a chart graph where you measure the angle of the top of the tree from the point where you are standing then measure how many feet you are away from the tree then the chart would tell you how tall the tree is.

http://www.benmeadows.com/shop/hand-...160627210551:s

[Shellback]

I have a pair of Hickory trees, one was struck by lightning last year and it's dead. I'm planning on taking them both down. They were nice trees, but the nuts dropping on the lawn made it like walking on marbles. I have about 112 feet of lawn to drop the trees on before they would impact a woodline. Looks like I'm good to go. Thanks for the responses.

[REW]

Shell,
If you drop the tree about 10 feet above the ground, you will have a nice trunk to attach a pull rope to help dislodge the root ball when one digs out the rood ball.

The longer base trunk, give you a longer lever arm, to assist in toppling the trunk and rood ball when digging out the stump.

Be safe

[bobk]

Originally Posted by Shellback

I have a pair of Hickory trees, one was struck by lightning last year and it's dead. I'm planning on taking them both down. They were nice trees, but the nuts dropping on the lawn made it like walking on marbles. I have about 112 feet of lawn to drop the trees on before they would impact a woodline. Looks like I'm good to go. Thanks for the responses.

Core the dead tree to maker sure its not hollow in the middle. Lost a buddy to a tree exploding that was rotten in the middle.

[tv4fish]

Just to clarify -- REW is incorrect and BCLII is correct (to a point) about the transit height (ASSuming when you set up the transit you are shooting a point on the trunk of the tree) . Turn your transit back down to 90 degrees or 0 degrees (horizontal) and see where you hit the tree trunk. Measure down from that point on the trunk of the tree to the ground at the trunk - THAT is the number you need to ADD to the 101 feet for the true tree height. IF the ground slopes downward/upward from the tree to where you have your transit, that IS going to affect the true tree height. IF you are saying that at a point 101 feet away from your tree you set up transit and when your "line of sight" (90 degrees or horizontal) hits the ground at the base of the tree, then you add 0 feet...

[johnboat]

Don't grind the stump! Leave it high enough for a chainsaw carver to make an eagle or bear or even a totem pole...........for the cost it would take to have a stump grinder "remove it".