The San Francisco call., 1896-07-19
Wonderful
Buried Forest
at Baden
Giant Redwood Trees
Brought to Light
by a Canyon
Stream

| Baden hills. the remains of once great
forest are now being brought to light by
| freak of nature almost as curious, though
much more gradual, than the one that
overwhelmed the giant trees.
Running out of the hills, almost oppo-
site Baden station, on the Southern PACING
| line. is little stream of water, llmpld and
! insign ificant during the summer months,
| but a swollen, turg1d torrent, roaring
down the canyon during the period when
| the winter rains drench the heights
| For perhaps mile before it reaches the
road there is nothing to excite more than
passing attention to the canyon, but be-
| yond that it is a miniature Colorado Can
| yon, and quite as curious in its way.
| AS the stream is assembled the cut
through which the water flows becomes
narrower and deeper until the walls tower
almost straight into the air to height of
$50 to 200 feet and the light of the sun is
| far less bright than on the surrounding
| hills.
From the appearance of the giant rift it
would seem that when the CONFUSION of
nature that heaped these great hills one
against the other was passed the earth in
| this particular place was softer and more
| broken than in other spots and that the
| first downfall of rain began the work of
disinterring the buried monarchs of ages
ago.
Gradually the stream has cut its way
into the bowels of the earth until from the
banks of the yawning chasm it looks like
| tiny spring branch far below. Here and
there great landslides have torn away
| from the bordering hills, leaving barren
gaps in the scanty, verdure and damming
| the stream temporarily, but their barriers
| have been. only temporary and little by
( little they have been carried down to be
| spread over the area where the canyon
widens into the plain.
| Among the curious features of the
canyon are the tail pinnacles of clay that
stand here and there along the banks of
the canyon like sentinels.
The water has gradually cut away the
earth surrounding some unusually hard
streak of clay, leaving 1T standing silent
and grim, tribute to the vagaries of
nature. The canyon is like bit of the
widest mountain nature transplanted into
the commonplace foothills and seeming
strangely out of place among the peaceful
dairy ranches and vegetable gardens that
surround it. Even the birds seem to be
different than those of the surrounding
hills with their brilliant plumase and
|
fits spectrally through the shadows when
disturbed by the infrequent hunter.
About mile and half from the en-
trance to the canyon, where the chasm is
the ,narrowest and the stream has gone
the deepest into the earth, is revealed
something of the nature of this district
before the hills were there.
Projecting from the lofty clay wall near
the level of the stream are a number of
massive logs that resemble redwoods.
Exposure to the air for a considerable
period has caused the ends of the trunks
farthest from the bank to rot and crum BILE,
but the portions that were uncovered by
torrents resulting from the fierce storms
of last winter are still sound and show
the trees to have been of large size.
The dozen or more trees that are now
in sight are apparently resting on bed of
| gravel seemingly the bed of an ancient
| stream-the stones which form it being
water worn and rounded and quite differ
ent from the fragments of slate and shell
that are found on the neighboring hills.
What vast convulsion of nature over
| threw them and heaped the yellow clay
upon their PROSTATE forms, covering them
and their gravelly resting place for CEN
turies, and until another stream searched
|
light of day, will never be known, but
scientists will draw conclusions and in
struction from their crumbling trunks,
and may through them supply some miss
ing link in geological history.
Local scientists are already interested in
the trunks, and party will probably visit
| the canyon before the winter rains return
to observe them and probably to bring
away section for critical examination as
to their condition and other matters.
Professor George Davidson, the veteran
scientist, who for many years was at the
head of the Coast and Geodetic Survey on
| this coast, thought that the find would
prove OF considerable scientific value, and
inquired particularly as to the location of
the canyon and the depth below ground
that the logs were exposed.
"As far back as Spanish history and ira
dition co., he said, 1--WE have no record of
redwood trees growing north of San
Bruno Mountain on the peninsula. That
the entire peninsula was once covered
with redwood forest is certain, however,
for in boring for artesian wells redwood
logs have frequently been struck at a
depth of from 800 to 500 feet.
The chips brought up by the drills
showed the logs to be in good condition
ana sound. 1t is a well-known fact that
redwood retains its normal condition
when in damp soil and free from air for
an indefinite period.
This is the first instance that has come
to my knowledge where these long-buried
logs have been brought under human
observation, and no doubt will give geolo-
eists many interesting points.
THE manner of their becoming buried
is merely matter of conjecture. 1t may
have been one of those great upheavals
that have occurred from time to time in
centuries past that overthrow them, or
those clay hills may have slipped from
some cause and carried the great trees
with them. No doubt the stream, as it
wears the canyon wider and deeper, will
un cover MANY moro -