The Fossil Forest is the remains of an ancient

submerged forest A submerged forest is the ''in situ'' remains of trees, especially tree stumps, that lie submerged beneath a bay, sea, ocean, lake, or other body of water. These remains have usually been buried in mud, peat, or sand for several thousand years b ...

from

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

times, located to the east of Lulworth Cove on the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome and Poo ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

.Ian West
Geology of the Purbeck Fossil Forest
''Geology of the Wessex Coast of Southern England''. It lies on the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast, also known as the Dorset and East Devon Coast, is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was ins ...

, on a wide ledge in the seaside cliff. The site is within the Lulworth Ranges and thus has restricted access. Parts of forest can also be seen on the

Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies south of the resort of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier ...

and in quarries near the town of Weymouth to the west.The Fossil Forest: Range WalksJurassic Coast
.

History

Near the end of the

Jurassic period The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the second and m ...

(c.144 million years ago) the sea levels dropped and a number of islands emerged in the Purbeck area, surrounded by saline lagoons and channels. For a short period, soil formed and a tropical forest grew up. It then flooded under a shallow saline

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

. The remains are now preserved as the Fossil Forest. This provides the most complete fossilised record of a Jurassic forest in the world. The ''c''. 140-million-year-old

Gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( ; ) are a group of woody, perennial Seed plant, seed-producing plants, typically lacking the protective outer covering which surrounds the seeds in flowering plants, that include Pinophyta, conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetoph ...

trees bear similarities with modern-day Cypress (''

Cupressus ''Cupressus'' (common name cypress) is one of several genus, genera of evergreen conifers within the Family (biology), family Cupressaceae; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a Polyphyly, polyphyletic group. Based on genetic and morpho ...

''), with foliage having the characteristics of a 'Monkey Puzzle' (''

Araucaria araucana ''Araucaria araucana'', commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, pewen, pehuen pine or piñonero, is an evergreen tree belonging to the family Araucariaceae and growing to a trunk diameter of and a height of . It is native to ...

''). Because of its closeness to ''Cupressus'', the species found here at the fossilized forest has been named '' Protocupressinoxylon purbeckensis'' (i.e. 'Early cypress-wood from the Purbecks').

Dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...

indicates that they grew in a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. Some of tree stumps show the remains of

thrombolite Thrombolites (from Ancient Greek θρόμβος ''thrómbos'' meaning " clot" and λῐ́θος ''líthos'' meaning " stone") are clotted accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding, and cementation of sedimentary ...

s. ''Purbeckensis'' is fairly easily distinguished from other species of prehistoric tree, due to the timbers' characteristic "cross-field pitting". Algal

stromatolites Stromatolites ( ) or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations ( microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria) ...

can be observed upon some of the stumps. The Fossil Forest at Dorset has been described as "one of the most complete fossilized forest of any age".

References

Bibliography

* {{coord, 50.6163, -2.2408, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Mesozoic paleontological sites of Europe Geology of Dorset Forests and woodlands of Dorset Jurassic Coast Isle of Portland Petrified forests Jurassic paleontological sites

History

See also

References

Bibliography