  In many respects the most remarkable of the fossil forests is on the northwest end of Specimen Ridge, about a mile southeast of Junction Butte and about opposite the mouth of Slough Creek. So far as known, this forest was first brought to scientific attention by Mr. E. C. Alderson, of Bozeman, Mont., and the writer, who discovered it in August, 1887. It is found on the higher part of the ridge, and covers several acres. The trees are exposed at various heights on the very steep hillsides, and one remarkable feature of the forest is that most of them project well above the surface. One of the largest and best preserved trees stands at the very summit of the slope (see title page). This trunk, which is that of a giant redwood, is 26½ feet in circumference without the bark and about 12 feet in height. The portion of this huge trunk preserved is the base, and it exhibits to a considerable degree the swelling or buttressing so well known in the living redwood. The roots, which are as large as the trunks of ordinary trees, are now embedded in solid rock. Fig. 5.—Upright trunks in Specimen Ridge fossil forest. On the steep hillside a short distance below the big tree just mentioned are the two trunks shown in figure 5. They are about 2 feet in diameter and 25 feet high, and stand some 20 feet apart, and we may imagine them to have formed the doorposts of the “ancient Fig. 6.—Trunk of fossil pine showing bark. Specimen Ridge fossil forest. In figure 6 is shown another trunk about 3 feet in diameter and nearly 30 feet high. In several places along the trunk the thick bark may be noted. This tree is a pine, as are the two last described, and Fig. 7.—Trunk showing bark. Specimen Ridge fossil forest. Fig. 8.—Upright and prostrate trunks, Specimen Ridge fossil forest. The height attained by the trees of this fossil forest can not be ascertained with certainty, since the tallest trunk now standing is only about 30 feet high, but every one observed is obviously broken off, and does not show even the presence of limbs. Perhaps the nearest approach to a measure of the height is afforded by a trunk (shown in fig. 10) that happened to have been prostrated before fossilization. This trunk, which is 4 feet in diameter, is exposed for a length of about 40 feet, and as it shows no apparent diminution in size within this distance it is safe to assume that the tree could hardly have been less than 100 feet high and very probably may have been higher. This trunk is wonderfully preserved. As may be seen from the illustration, it has broken up by splitting along the grain of the wood into great numbers of little pieces, which closely resemble Fig. 10.—Prostrate trunk of fossil redwood, Specimen Ridge fossil forest. The large redwood trunk already mentioned (title-page) as being nearly 10 feet in diameter may be compared with its living relative of the Pacific coast in order to calculate its probable height. The living redwood is usually 10 to 15 feet in diameter and ranges in height from 200 to 310 feet, and as the two are so very closely related there is no reason to suppose that the fossil trunk was of less height, but by a moderate estimate it may be accredited with a minimum height of 200 feet. MAP OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK |
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