Ancient Rainforest Tree
© Joe Bridwell
A huge log now lies on the ground in front of Bisti Hoodoos. A segment has broken away, rolling forward.
Don't be fooled by what you can see now; as dry as the Bisti presently is, there's much more to this remarkable rainforest story...
A huge log now lies on the ground in front of Bisti Hoodoos. A segment has broken away, rolling forward.
Don't be fooled by what you can see now; as dry as the Bisti presently is, there's much more to this remarkable rainforest story...
Cretaceous Seaway Seventy million years ago, northwestern New Mexico was covered by a Cretaceous sea. What would become the Bisti at the sea's edge was then barrier islands, peat bogs, and mangrove swamps. Mangrove trees grew quite tall in immense rainforests.
Dinosaurs inhabited the future Bisti region. If you saw Jurassic Park, perhaps you remember the striking movie version of a dinosaur eating leaves from atop of a very tall tree.
This Tree
You're only seeing a fraction of this tree; from the base (out of sight – left), along the trunk, to the broken edges perhaps near the top (out of sight – right), this tree was at least 120 feet long. At the base, it takes a very long-legged man to successfully straddle the trunk.
Other sediments covered this rainforest after the dinosaur’s demise. This tree and other remnants in the Bisti lay buried for many, many years.
When more recent streams (Denazin and Hunter washes, etc.) feeding the Chaco River began to erode headward, as they cut sand and clay away some of these ancient forest trees were uncovered.
Bisti Beast
Not far from here, Dr. Tom Williamson found the skull from the Bisti Beast - a 'cousin' to Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Beast can be seen at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History...
Dinosaurs inhabited the future Bisti region. If you saw Jurassic Park, perhaps you remember the striking movie version of a dinosaur eating leaves from atop of a very tall tree.
This Tree
You're only seeing a fraction of this tree; from the base (out of sight – left), along the trunk, to the broken edges perhaps near the top (out of sight – right), this tree was at least 120 feet long. At the base, it takes a very long-legged man to successfully straddle the trunk.
Other sediments covered this rainforest after the dinosaur’s demise. This tree and other remnants in the Bisti lay buried for many, many years.
When more recent streams (Denazin and Hunter washes, etc.) feeding the Chaco River began to erode headward, as they cut sand and clay away some of these ancient forest trees were uncovered.
Bisti Beast
Not far from here, Dr. Tom Williamson found the skull from the Bisti Beast - a 'cousin' to Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Beast can be seen at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History...
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