Pinus Sylvestris, commonly known as Baltic pine, is native to Eurasia, ranging from Western Europe to Eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains and Anatolia, and north to well inside the Arctic Circle. In the Baltic region, pines have particularly straight trunks, a relatively narrow pyramidal crown, slender branches and high-quality wood. Because of these characteristics, beginning in the 17th century, high-quality pine wood has been exported from Latvia to many countries through the port of Riga, with shipbuilders all over the world praising the Riga pine as an excellent "mast pine".