Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
24.4/4.2
This wide turnout at the south side of the road is the best place to try to see pet-
rified trees near the top of Specimen Ridge. You can see them only with good binoculars and
you need to know exactly where to look.
On the opposite side of the road not far from here was Little America, a 1930s camp for
men of the Civilian Conservation Corps, who found the weather in this valley early and late in
the season to be a lot like Antarctica. The original Little America, on the continent of Antarc-
tica, had been established by Richard Byrd late in 1928. Today this area is called Little Amer-
ica Flats.
Petrified Trees
South of the road is a remarkable phenomenon: high up on the slopes, trees that used
to grow here have been turned to solid stone. This happened during the Eocene epoch,
50 million years ago, long before the caldera events that left us Yellowstone's present-day
thermal features. The trees became petrified; that is, the wood was converted to stone by
dissolved minerals in water at the time when they were covered with volcanic lava, tephra,
and tremendous mudflows. Other areas contain petrified wood—the best known in the
United States is Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. But Yellowstone has more well-
preserved upright trees than any other known locality.
Preserved by
petrification
were cool-climate trees (spruce and willow, such as grow
here today), temperate trees (like sycamore and walnut), and subtropical trees (like bread-
fruit and avocado). Researchers have concluded that the climate at the lower altitudes must
have been much warmer than it is today and that the trees common to cooler climates were
washed down—some still upright—in mudflows from higher altitudes. There must also
have been much more rainfall, perhaps 50 to 60 inches (130-150 cm) per year, compared
to today's 15 to 18 inches (38-45 cm) per year. This area may have resembled present-day
Guatemala.
On a lighter note, historian Hiram Chittenden contributes the following, inspired by
tales told by trappers:
Sage brush, grass, prairie fowl, antelope, elk, and bears
May there be seen as perfect as in actual life.
Even flowers are blooming in colors of crystal,
And birds soar with wings spread in motionless flight,
While the air floats with music and perfumes siliceous,
And the sun and the moon shine with petrified light!
