To the north of Death Valley, California, stand the White Mountains. Allegedly the dryest place on earth (less than 12 inches/30 cm annual precipitation). In 1957, Dr. Edmund Schulman discovered the world's oldest tree: a 4,723 year old bristlecone named Methuselah.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Methuselah -
Man of the dart, the son of Enoch, and grandfather of Noah. He was the oldest man of whom we have any record, dying at the age of nine hundred and sixty-nine years, in the year of the Flood (Genesis 5:21-27; 1 Chronicles 1:3).
Methuselah is also a song by the Smashing Pumpkins. (Maybe someone will be so kind as to write out the lyrics.)