Prehistoric forests of the Midwest, part one
A chunk of petrified wood that dates back nearly 12,000 years. The log was found in Two Creeks, Wisc., and is the product of wave erosion from Lake Michigan. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Phil Burgess
As you drive through our scenic area countryside today, you’ll pass by forested areas with many familiar modern tree species, such as oaks, maples, pines, walnuts and so forth.
But did you know that thousands — even millions — of years ago, this area was carpeted with trees that are unfamiliar to any of those living today?
In part one, I’m featuring a photo of a small spruce log that was exposed by wave erosion along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Two Creeks, Wisc. The log was buried under the clay and sand of an advanced lob of glacial ice during what geologists call the Valders Substage of the Wisconsin glacial stage. It has been dated at around 11,850 years old.
The log is still composed of the original tree wood, having not been replaced by stone. Similar buried glacial forests and organic deposits exist in other Great Lakes states.
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