Florrisant from p. 9 “I’ve seen a couple of interesting photographs from back in the early 1900s that my family handed down about this place called Florissant, and I’ve never been there, and I’m just very curious about what is there and what it’s all about,” Michalak said. In particular, Michalak said she was curious about the enormous petrified tree stumps she saw in her family photos. How were they formed, and when? Wolin said it often seems odd to people when they see the stumps of huge redwood trees in Colorado; it’s a species that today is mostly isolated to California and Oregon. But 34 million years ago, redwoods – some up to 14 feet across in Florissant – were common across much of the Northern Hemisphere, due to the generally warmer and more temperate climate found here at the time. This time period, known as the late Eocene, also saw a much more volcanically active Colorado than modern times. So just how did Florissant’s trees become petrified? Successive nearby eruptions buried the land containing the monument in layers of ash-laden mud, creating ideal conditions for what is now one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. The mud buried the trees and over time petrified them up to a certain point on their trunks. Over time, the mud and its chemical make-up basically turned the stumps into stone. Scientists at the monument say about 30 stumps have been discovered so far, and it’s possible more may lie beneath the surface. Under the radar When asked about being a ranger at one of the National Park Services’ quieter locations, Wolin was bullish in his pride. “I’ve been here for 20 years, if that says something. I love this place,” Wolin said. “There’s always something new.” Indeed, Wolin said researchers using new technologies are still finding rich new fossil discoveries on the monu-
10 n April 21, 2022
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Lead Interpretive Ranger Jeff Wolin said he loves watching visitors see the monument's famous petrified tree stumps for the first time. "You can just see it on their face," he said. ment grounds. He said the paved walking path around the visitors center and the main collection of petrified stumps does tend to feel crowded in summer months but even then, solace can be found on the monument’s trails farther afield.
telegraph
Last year, Wolin said just 71,000 people visited Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. To compare, 2021 visitation to Rocky Mountain National Park was 4.4 million. For more from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org ■
