Bases of the larger Sugar Maple trees growing in my woods.
The Sugar Maple, also called Hard Maple due to it's hard wood and long life 300 + years is a shallow rooted tree. This is why you see the fluted roots at the base, spreading out in all direction to firmly anchor these giants.
Other trees like Hickory or Oak have "taproots". These are the main root that goes straight down in the ground. These trees are the most well anchored of all the trees.