Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

March 30, 2017

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Photographer: Chuck Wehner 
Summary Authors: Chuck Wehner; Jim Foster

Shown above is a fossilized tree trunk in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Appropriately called Big Stump, it's one of the most impressive fossils on the monument grounds, measuring about 7 ft (2.1 m) in diameter. Like most of the other trees found here, it's the petrified remains of a redwood (Sequoia), dating from the late Eocene Epoch. After it had fallen, it was evidently buried in a silica-rich substance -- perhaps mud or even volcanic ash. Over time, silica made its way into the wood where it eventually hardened. Photo taken on August 31, 2006.

Photo Details: Camera Panasonic DMC-G5 camera; Lumix G Vario lens - 14-45/F3.5-5.6; f/8;  1/400th-second exposure.

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