Near Florissant in Teller County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
The Present Touches the Past
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 11, 2020
1. The Present Touches the Past Marker
Inscription.
The Present Touches the Past. .
Just beyond the circular wooden fence in front of you is a young ponderosa pine tree growing out of the top of an ancient petrified redwood tree stump. The huge redwood tree was buried by a volcanic mudflow and was later exposed by erosion. The bottom 15 feet (4.6 meters) of the tree became petrified. Imagine the changes in this area over the past 34 million years.
Responding to Climate Change , Climate changes over the millenia brought different kinds of forests and animal life. Millions of trees grew in thousands of generations of forest which continually changed compostion through time. Gradually, the forest of redwoods became the forest of ponderosa pines. Today, you literally see the present growing out of the past.
Just beyond the circular wooden fence in front of you is a young ponderosa pine tree growing out of the top of an ancient petrified redwood tree stump. The huge redwood tree was buried by a volcanic mudflow and was later exposed by erosion. The bottom 15 feet (4.6 meters) of the tree became petrified. Imagine the changes in this area over the past 34 million years.
Responding to Climate Change
Climate changes over the millenia brought different kinds of forests and animal life. Millions of trees grew in thousands of generations of forest which continually changed compostion through time. Gradually, the forest of redwoods became the forest of ponderosa pines. Today, you literally see the present growing out of the past.
Location. 38° 54.772′ N, 105° 17.158′ W. Marker is near Florissant, Colorado, in Teller County. Marker is along the Ponderosa Loop Trail at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15807 County Road 1, Florissant CO 80816, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Life in the Forest (within shouting distance of
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 11, 2020
2. The Present Touches the Past Marker
Ponderosa pine growing over a petrified redwood stump inside fence
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 11, 2020
3. Ponderosa Pine Growing Around Petrified Redwood Stump
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 11, 2020
4. Ponderosa Pine Growing Around Petrified Redwood Stump
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 11, 2020
5. Ponderosa Pine Growing Around Petrified Redwood Stump
Credits. This page was last revised on October 23, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 89 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 23, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
