A FOREST OF STONE 



713 



TWIN TRUNKS OF THE FOSSIL FOREST. 



THESE ARE ON SPECIMEN RIDGE, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. THEY ARE TWO FEET IN DIAMETER, 

 TWENTY FEET APART AND TWENTY-FIVE FEET HIGH. 



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 that happened to 

 have been prostrated before fossiliza- 

 tion. This trunk, which is 4 feet_ in 

 diameter, is exposed for a length of 

 about 40 feet, and as it shows no ap- 

 parent diminution in size within this 



