Community Heritage Register
Rock Tree
Surrey, British Columbia
Also known as Rock Tree and Boulder, Th'exsiyamia
View of Rock Tree, 2004
Photo: City of Surrey
- Recognized
- 2002
- By
- Local government
The register’s text, word for word
Description
The Rock Tree is a native mature Western Red Cedar growing out of a split glacial erratic boulder that is approximately two metres by three metres in size. The Rock Tree sits within a six-metre circumference fenced preserve, close to the street and surrounded by open space, that straddles the property line between two houses in a residential development.
Heritage value
The Rock Tree is significant as a rare example of a large native tree growing out of a glacial erratic boulder. While it is common to find trees like this growing out of rocks in mountainous regions, it is unusual to find a tree of this size growing out of an erratic boulder within the Lower Mainland. The fact that the tree and boulder are now located within the context of a new single-family subdivision makes this tree and boulder even more unique.
Today, local First Nations people consider this tree to have spiritual signifiance and have given it the name 'Th'exsiyamia,' whose name means 'pushing forward great respected one'.
SourceHeritage Planning Files, City of Surrey
Character‑defining elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Rock Tree include its:
- unusual configuration as a mature Western Red Cedar tree growing from a glacial erratic boulder;
- glacial erratic boulder, approximately two metres high, three metres wide and three metres deep, now split by the growth of the tree; and
- six-metre square preserve of its natural environment.
End of the register’s text
Location
12237 and 12245 91A Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia, V3V, Canada
49.16970° N, 122.88380° W
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Nearby
All 82 places in Surrey
Similar places
Places whose register descriptions are closest to this one.
From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.