Milford chronicle., 1895-08-30
A SUBMERGED FOREST.


Many years ago, even SO far back that
the traditions of the oldest Siwash extend
not thereto there was some vast upheayal
of Mother Earth on the shores Of Lake
Samamish that sent q portion Of the big
Newcastle hills sliding down into the Lake
with its tail evergreen forest intact, and
there Il is to this dr. About this time of
the year the waters 4 the lake are mt their
lowest, and then the tops of the tallest Of
these big submerged trees are out Of the
water, but never more than 10 or IL inches.
Unfortunately for the curiosity seeker
and travelling public generally the sub
merged forest is on the opposite side of the
lake from tho railroad and the station Of
Monohon, and very few people ever SEQ the
phenomenon unless they take the time and
pains necessary to reach It.
Sam Coombs, the pioneer has just been
over to view the submerged forest and no
Is very enthusiastic concerning its beauties
and mystery. He talks Chinook fluently,
but with all his quizzing of the red skinned
inhabitants he has never learned anything
that will throw any light on the history Of
the forest under water. The waters of the
lake are very deep, and the bluffs back Of
the beach very precipitous so that the
only explanation of the freak IS that either
great slide has been started in early times,
and it went down as mass until it found
Judgment at the bottom Of the lake. At
this time one can see down into the CLASSY,
mirrorlike depths of the lake for 30'feet or
more. Near the banks the forest trees arc
interlaced at various angles and in confu-
sion, but farther out in the deep water
they stand straight, erect and limbless and
barkless, 100 feet tall They are not petri-
fled in the sense of being turned to stone,
but they are preserved and appear to have
stood there for ages They are three feet
through some of them, and so iir.l in
texture as to DO scarcely affect ny q
knife's blade Tho great slide ded
for some distance, and it would re o a
dangerous picco of work for a steamer to
attempt passage over the tops OF these tall
trees Even now tho water along shore Is
very deep, and 10 foot pole would sink
perpendicularly out Of sight 10 feet from
the shore line.
All over this country are found strata
Of blue clay, which in the winter season
are very treacherous, and given the least
bit of opportunity will slide away, carrying
everything above with them. This is the
theory Of the submerged forest Of Lake
Samamish. 1t probably was growing above
one Of these blue earth Strata ana neaNy
rains or probably an earthquake set It
moving The quantity of earth carried
down was so great that the positions of the
trees on the portion carried away were lit
tie affected It is hardly to be believed
that the earth suddenly sank down at this
point and became a portion Of the beauti-
full lake
Few such places exist. There is place
in the famous Tumwater canyon, on the
line Of the Great Northern, near Leaven-
worth, which is in some respects similar.
At some early time portion of the great
mountain side came rushing down and
buried itself at the bottom Of the canyon.
Now there is a considerable lake, and in
the center stand tall, limbless trees, differ
emit in species from those growing along
the canyon.
At Green lake, near Georgetown, Colo,
a lake which is 10, GOO feet above sea level,
is a submerged forest of pine trees, some
hundred feet tall, but not so numerous as
in Lake Sanamish. This same theory ex-
plains their presence as given above
Seattle Times.