Abstract
Central Wyoming, USA, was the site of ancient Lake Gosiute during the Early Eocene. Lake Gosiute was a large body of water surrounded by subtropical forest, the lake being part of a lacustrine complex that occupied the Green River Basin. Lake level rises episodically drowned the adjacent forests, causing standing trees and fallen branches to become growth sites for algae and cyanobacteria, which encased submerged wood with thick calcareous stromatolitic coatings. The subsequent regression resulted in a desiccation of the wood, causing volume reduction, radial fractures, and localized decay. The subsequent burial of the wood in silty sediment led to a silicification of the cellular tissue. Later, chalcedony was deposited in larger spaces, as well as in the interstitial areas of the calcareous coatings. The final stage of mineralization was the precipitation of crystalline calcite in spaces that had previously remained unmineralized. The result of this multi-stage mineralization is fossil wood with striking beauty and a complex geologic origin.
Highlights
This report describes the fossil wood preserved in Eocene lakebed sediments in southwestern Wyoming, USA
The purpose of our research is to investigate the fossilization processes that produced the complex mineralogy of Blue Forest wood
Our studies focus on the fossil wood from the Blue Forest beds that lie within the Laney Shale
Summary
This report describes the fossil wood preserved in Eocene lakebed sediments in southwestern Wyoming, USA. The purpose of our research is to investigate the fossilization processes that produced the complex mineralogy of Blue Forest wood. Taxonomic and paleoecology studies of stratigraphically similar sites within the Green River Formation provide insights into the paleogeography and paleoclimate associated with the Blue Forest. Fossil wood from the region is sometimes referred to as coming from Eden Valley, a broad basin that does not have well-defined boundaries. We use the locality name “Blue Forest” to describe an area that has long been known to petrified wood aficionados as the Blue Forest. The fossil wood has a complex mineralogy, resulting from environmental changes in the ancient lake basin, and the subsequent diagenetic processes
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