1,000-year-old oak tree survives Hurricane Harvey - the 500-year storm

The Big Tree, a live oak that is more than 1,000-years-old survived Hurricane Harvey's landfall near Goose Island State Park. See more images of the flooding caused by Harvey. The Big Tree, a live oak that is more than 1,000-years-old survived Hurricane Harvey's landfall near Goose Island State Park. See more images of the flooding caused by Harvey. Photo: Texas Department Of Parks And Wildlife Photo: Texas Department Of Parks And Wildlife Image 1 of / 117 Caption Close 1,000-year-old oak tree survives Hurricane Harvey - the 500-year storm 1 / 117 Back to Gallery

Before Harvey dropped unprecedented amounts of rain on Houston, the storm brought Category 4-level winds to the Texas coast in Rockport.

And while the storm devastated large portions of the coastal town, one of it's most famous natural structures survived.

The Big Tree at Goose Island State Park, which is more than 1,000 years old, came through Harvey - what is being called a "500-year storm" for its rarity - relatively unscathed, even as younger trees fell victim to the storm, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced on Sunday.

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According to the parks department, the tree has a circumference of more than 35 feet with an average diameter of more than 11 feet. At its peak it stands 44 feet tall, but in a 2011 profile, the Houston Chronicle's Andrew Dansby said it is that girth, rather than the height that is truly impressive.

Over the centuries the great tree has seen it's fair share of disasters. This is far from the first hurricane it has weathered. A plaque in front of the Big Tree states the following:

"I am a live oak tree and I am very old. I have seen spring return more than a thousand times. I can remember hundreds of hurricanes, most I'd rather forget, but I withstood."

THE IMPACT: Rockport residents stunned by devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey

After Harvey came ashore in Rockport, one person died in a structure fire, and about a dozen people were treated for minor injuries. Officials said damage was likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, Aransas County Judge Burt Mills said the community will rebuild.

"It's very disheartening," he said. "We're going to get through it. We'll make it. Working together we'll rebuild and we'll be better."