Redwood Forest: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado, 36 Million Years Ago

Late Eocene (36 million years ago)(Florissant Formation). This scene shows the trees that are preserved at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Florissant, Colorado. A volcanic eruption damned the rivers in the area creating a large lake in which the trees were preserved as fossils.

Plants depicted: palmetto (Sabalites sp.), Rosa hilliae, Sequoia, unnamed fern

This preliminary version is part of a joint project between the Interactive Geology Project at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The nature paintings at the Colorado Convention Center and Denver Museum of Nature and Science are being animated.


Based on the painting "Redwoods and Roses" (Colorado Convention Center)(courtesy Kirk Johnson and Jan Vriesen). A special thanks to James Hagadorn and Ian Miller (DMNS) for their input.

Scene is by Joseph Rogers and James Adson.

http://igp.colorado.edu
Geologic age: 36Ma