Stump of ancient Red Wood .
Ancient Red Wood that split into two identical trees after Rhino battle millions of years ago.
This open space used to be a giant lake.
(Sideways picture) Scar of a lighting bolt that struck this tree trunk.
Ancient fossil of a fish that was in the lake.
Adam Screnci
HUM 3990
Sullivan
July 15, 2013
Florissant
Experience
Our
trip to the Florissant Fossil beds was a unique and fun experience that gave us
a glimpse into the prehistory of ancient Colorado. 34 million years ago
Florissant was riddled with all kinds of prehistoric life ranging from the very
large animals, redwood trees, and a large destructive volcano that towered over
the land, to the miniature insects and plants that occupied the forest floors.
Also, it was interesting that a large lake used to be in the large open space
where we were all sitting and where tourists were walking. It is interesting to
think about what this part of Colorado used to look like millions and millions
of years ago. In my opinion, history dating that far back is never really
certain, and humans can never really know for sure what was really happening
back then. Sure you can take an educated guess to put you in the ball park, but
no way is it pin point accurate. However, I think the preservation of
fossilized plants and insects was neat, and it allows a glimpse into
Florissant’s prehistoric past.
I personally think
fossils of ancient mammals or dinosaurs would be a little more interesting, but
Florissant offered a different sort of repertoire which was interesting in its
own unique way. The exquisite detail of the flowers and insects was amazing,
you could see the wing designs on the insects, detailed patterns on the
flowers, as well as the scales and fins of fish that were in the lake; very
cool.
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