Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park in Park County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)
Petrified Tree
Subtropical Yellowstone
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 29, 2015
1. Petrified Tree Marker
This petrified redwood is a clue to a warmer, damper, more violent Yellowstone landscape. Anatomically the trunk is indistinguishable from present-day redwoods in California.
When a chain of volcanoes erupted here in Eocene times 50 million years ago, they triggered massive landslides into mountain and valley streams. The rolling mix of ash, water and sand buried forests. Before the trees could rot, abundant silica in the volcanic flow plugged living cells, creating “forests of stone.”
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Horticulture & Forestry.
Location. 44° 54.933′ N, 110° 26.308′ W. Marker is in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, in Park County. It is in Mammoth. Marker can be reached from Grand Loop Road, on the left when traveling west. Marker is located in Yellowstone National Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Yellowstone National Park WY 82190, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Towers in the Air (approx. 3 miles away); Mt. Washburn Trail (approx. 6.4 miles away); The Forest that Needs Fire (approx. 7 miles away); Forces of the Northern Range Self-Guiding Trail
this page online
More about this marker. A picture at the bottom of the marker shows destroyed trees on Mount St. Helens after the 1980 eruption. The upper right of the marker features a photograph of men standing near Yellowstone’s petrified tree and has a caption of “Volcanic ash and mudflows obliterated a living landscape yet preserved this tree for the ages. There were three redwoods standing here before thoughtless souvenir-hunters chipped away the other two. The 1907 photograph shows a second tree in the background (before this trunk was fenced).”
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 29, 2015
2. Petrified Tree Marker
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 29, 2015
3. Petrified Tree Marker
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 29, 2015
4. Marker in Yellowstone Nat'l Park
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 29, 2015
5. Yellowstone's Petrified Tree
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 29, 2015
6. Petrified Tree
This photo shows the fence that is protecting this petrified tree from the public.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, July 29, 2015
7. Petrified Forest
More examples of petrified trees can be seen elsewhere in Yellowstone, not far from the marker.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 13, 2015, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 488 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 13, 2015, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.
