The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-08-08
FOSSILIZED TREES.
IMMENSE FORESTS THAT HAVE Tusm-
ED TO STONE.

Che Great Yellowstone Natiannl Park
Fossil Fuacst Ridge
The Yellowstone National park is
called the wonderland Of America. and
SINCE the destruction of the New Zea
land geyser area it Is perhaps entitled
to be called the wonderland of the
world, for within It's limits the most
varied of natures workings may be OBJ
served. Its hundreds of hot springs nnd
geysers, its PERCEPTIONS canyons and rush
ing cataracts. its snow capped mountain
peaks and mirrOrod lakes make it of
SURPRISING interest The lover of nat
ural scenery may lfngcr kong over its
beauties and its wonders.
From the geological point of view it
is also of great interest, for here may
be found rocks that range IN age from
the most ancient of which we have any
knowledge to these IN process of forna-
ton at the present moment The gu
perheated waters of the hot springs and
eeysers hold % large amount of rock
making nlnterial III solution, which is
deposited about the openings of the
springs on the cooling of the waters, and
i'll this way building up u mass of great
magnitude. These springs and Eeysers
are constantly breaking ont in new
places often on the borders en- in the
forests OF living trees The trees are
Killed mt once by the hot water, and om
becoming withered and dry begin soon
to take up the rockmaking solution By
which they are bathed and TINS to pass
into the fossil state
Conditions similar to these. or at hast
favorable to the preservation of fossil
forests, appear to have existed from
remote time. for there is evidence 10
show that the fossil forests We're 1re-
served before the most active of the hot
spring phenomena were inaugurate1L
These fossil forests are located IN the
northeastern corner of the Yellowstone
National park, at place known locally
as Amethyst mountain, or Fossil Forest
ridge. This is really Il mountain some
ten miles long and rising nealry or quite
1000 feet above the general level of the
valley. IT it were possible TO cut a SEC
ton down through this mountain, as u
slice is cut from ii loaf of bread, there
would be found succession Of at least
10 fossil forests, ono above another
that Is to say, at some remote day, geo.
logically speaking, there grew "a great
forest, which WAS covered up by the
elected material from great volcano.
rivaling in size Mount Etna, that is
known to have existed some miles 10
the north. The trees were entomb,d in
nh upright position, and under the ac-
ton of silica charged waters were fossil
izeL The action of the volcano ceased,
and quiet was restored for q sufficient
length of tilno for second forest to be
developed above the first. Then came
second outburst from tho volcano, and
this forest was buried and fossilized like
the first. and SO. in turn, have the dozen
or more forests hourished and been ell,
quilted.
Then came the final quiet, the rum
bling of the volcano ceased, and its fires
were extinguished But Immediately
the action of tho elements began, and
the wearing forces Of rain and frost, act
ing through long ages, have carved out
this mountain. in tho heart Of which
MAY be read the story of it's origin. This
denudation appears to have been unac-
companied by any of the violent move
ncnts so often characteristic of mountain
building, and consequently when the
softer material is worn away from
around the trunks they stand upright in
the exact positions in which they grew
originally.
The first forest to be visited Is in
the vicinity OF Yancey's, stage station
ON the mail route from the Mammoth
Hot Springs to Cooke City, Mon It is
about mile west of the junction of the
Lamar river and tho Yellowstone, and
on the middle slope of low hill AS
one approaches the locality, several
trunks are observed standing on the hill
side, which at u distance seem quite like
the stumps of living trees, and even
nearer approach barely suffices to reveal
their true nature, as they arc covered
with lichens and blackened and discol-
ored by frost and rain. They are, how
ever, vcritable fossil trunks, standing
upright ON the steep hillside, in the
same positions in which they grew. The
largest trunk is 1875 feet in circumfer-
ence and about 10 feet in height It is
considerably weathered and must have
been much larger when living. for the
bark Is i'll no place preserved The 9th
ers-and there are dozens of the1n-nrc
slightly smaller, and have been wealth
cred down until, i'll most cases, only
few inches can be seen above the sur
face. So perfectly are they preserved
that each stump shows tho annual rings
as distinctly visible Us In a freshly cut
hying tree, and even each tiny cell, with
Its fine and delicate markings, is abso-
lutely perfect.
The next forest is some 10 or e miles
distant, along the Lamar river, on the
south side of which faces the Fossil For