Fossil Forests (polystrate and upright fossils)

There are four main categories of fossils, including Permineralization, Molds and Casts, Impressions, and Whole Organism Preservation.4

Permineralization- the stiff, porous cells of an organism are impregnated by minerals. This includes prettification.

Molds and casts- a mold is formed when an organism is incased in clay. The organism decays and is replaced by sediment which hardens in to stone. Hard shells will also be filled by sediments.

Impressions- an imprint of something is left in soft soil and then quickly buried. When the soil hardens in to rock the impression is preserved.

Whole organism preservation- an organism is surrounded by conditions that prevent it from decaying. These conditions include encasement in tar, ice or sap (for insects), as well as harsh conditions that cause mummification. Whole organism preservation is relatively rare.

A fossil forest is an area that contains many trees that have been fossilized. This web sight focuses on upright forests (forests that are in an upright position and protrude through more then one layer), but there are fossilized forests that are not vertical.

· Fossilized trees exist at different layers in the earth around the world
· Some fossilized forests have fossilized trees in lavers above other trees
· Some trees have intact root systems
· Some trees do not have intact root systems

Creationist scientists take the presence of fossilized forests as evidence of a massive catastrophe, i.e. the biblical flood. There are two common arguments for that:

· Trees would rot before they fossilized
· Fossilized trees in more then one layer does not fit with Uniformitarianism

Uniformitarianism- “current geologic processes, occurring at the same rates observed today, in the same manner, account for all of Earth's geological features.”1 James Hutton observed the slow accumulation of sand and theorized guessed that the earth was millions of years old because of uniformitarianism. This was against the theory of catastrophism that states the earth was created by supernatural means. This does not state that all geologic processes are slow and take a long time, which is how it may be misinterpreted. (On a different note, this website shows fossilized objects of today as a “major problem for evolution.” Play fossilization both ways, earth processes could not have formed fossilized trees quickly and fossils are very recent and do not form over long periods of time.)

Another argument is that the said flood transported the trees from their original location.2 While scientific evidence supports this to a point (some trees do appear to have been transported), there are two major flaws in this logic. First, some trees that are in situ-in their original location, roots intact-are growing on trees that were transported. It is also hard to explain why some trees are uprooted and some are not. Finally, carbon and dating of other radioactive elements indicates the trees were fossilized at different times, from the Devonian Period to modern day.

The following three processes described by non catastrophism science that account for the rapid accumulation of sediments needed for fossil forests and polystrate fossils:

Wind deposited sand- in areas where there is strong wind large quantities of sand are moved during a short time. The sand accumulates and forms petrified sand dunes that some times contain trees. This can be seen near Lake Michigan at the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, where trees can be covered in ten meters of sand within a few years. Relatively few fossil forests are formed this way, as the conditions required are fairly uncommon.

Volcanic eruptions- large quantities of volcanic ash or debris flow bury portions of trees and petrify them before decomposition can take place. During the time between eruptions the ash is weathered into ferial soil and a forest will grow again. The process will repeat, forming fossil forests several layers thick. The process is illustrated below or see (most) images. (NOTE: I am still finding the best way to display this. It is currently in a stationary point that DOES NOT CHANGE. I am working on it, but until then try changing the size if the test is covered up. Also, Internet Explorer is having problems switching slides. Please try using Mozilla Firefox if this is an issue.)

River or swamp deposition- trees growing in swampy areas may become buried by the swamp. Water is not conducive to decay, and the trees are likely to remain intact while being buried in sediments and petrified. Also, some species of tree are able to continue growing while partially submerged. Layers of sediment build up around the tree, and when it dies it is already partly buried. Water, namely rivers, have the capacity to transport large quantities of sediment rapidly and can cause trees to be rapidly submerged in sediment. A photo of a swamp with these characteristics is available here.

1 http://www.allaboutcreation.org/Uniformitarianism.htm
2 http://biblicalstudies.qldwide.net.au/cs-yellowstone_petrified_forests.html
3 http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/creation/polystrate.html
4 http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/TuttS/fossil_formation.htm
5 http://sts.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/clf/landscapes_details.asp?numero=78
6 http://www.geocities.com/earthhistory/forests.htm
7 Riggs, N.R. et al. November 2003. Isotopic age of the Black Forest Bed, Petrified Forest Member, Chinle Formation, Arizona: An example of dating a continental sandstone. Geological Society of America Bullion v. 115 no11: 1315-23.
8 Holloway, Marguerite. May 2002. Trees of the Triassic. Scientific America v. 286 no5; 96-8.

Author: Heather Hayes email at hayeshe@earlham.edu
Creation/revision date: April 12, 2005 (Under construction)