Fossil forest found in coal shaft

Local News

Related Photos

Photo Provided

Discussion

February 26, 2009

BY MIKE HELENTHAL The Commercial-News Thu Feb 26, 2009, 09:29 PM CST

DANVILLE — A 300-million-year-old “fossil forest” discovered in a coal shaft 30 miles south of Danville will again become invisible to human eyes as miners seal areas where they have already extracted the coal and moved on.

“Most of that stuff is already sealed up,” said Eric Quan, Vermilion Grove mine manager.

“Us old coal miners have seen these things for years and didn’t think anything about it,” he added. “That’s what coal is made of.”

But the geological community became excited when it was determined the fossilized tree stumps and fern leaves the coal seam had exposed was part of a 4-mile swath of an ancient rain forest.

“The fossil ceiling, held up by 6-foot-high, 80-foot-wide pillars of coal, goes on for 4 square miles,” said a 2008 article in Discovery Magazine. “No other known preserved forest comes close in size.”

The forest is found in the Herrin coal seam which runs through both the Vermilion Grove mine and the Riola mine in Indiana.

Peabody spokeswoman Beth Sutton said the mine had gotten increased scientific media attention after the Illinois State Geological Survey went down into the mine for survey and fossil collection.

She said the requests for tours and interviews became overwhelming to the point where the company could only grant a few because of the manpower needed to ensure an outsider’s safety in the mine.

Quan said he started referring calls to corporate spokespeople after a story on the discovery ran in the Los Angeles Times.

“That’s when it really started to pick up steam,” he said, adding he believes the initial media rush was partially because that article had incorrectly converted hectares into miles, showing the forest to be four times larger than it really was.

Still, scientists had a field day with the rare view from underneath a forest that had been destroyed with a mud flow that, 300 million years ago, took four months to play out. The slow mud preserved the forest as opposed to a catastrophic event that might have destroyed fossil evidence. It’s the same process that created the numerous coal deposits that brought early settlers here.

“It’s the worm’s-eye view. You’re looking up at what the forest floor used to look like,” said Scott Elrick, the ISGS geologist who surveyed the find, in the Discover article. Elrick could not be reached in time for this story.

He said in his ISGS report that the opportunity to research the forest was one he savored: “When fossil plant researchers (paleobotanists) want to look at the ecology of an ancient forest, it is rather difficult to simply go walking through an ancient forest.”

Elrick surmised an earthquake dropped one side of the fault and caused flooding.

“Because the subsequent influx of sediment was not a catastrophic tsunami thing but more of a slow-motion event, all the small itty-bitty plants are in place,” he said in the Discover article.

Quan said workers were glad the attention is behind them.

“It was really more of an inconvenience,” he said.

Text Only

Local News

Martha Stewart learns family’s roots
Television viewers have been treated to two series lately dealing with genealogy.

May 27, 2012
Haiti touches her heart
Janis Ostiguy of Danville experiences many emotions each time she visits Haiti — sadness at the poverty, happiness with the children, warmth for the people and their spirit.

May 27, 2012 3 Photos
Turtles return to race
Collected turtles are being fed fruits, meat and vegetables and will be ready to go for the 48^th Annual Turtle Races.

May 27, 2012
Hiker’s heart is in America's Highlands
Robert Burns, the immortal Scottish poet, once wrote, “My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; my heart’s in the Highlands, a’chasing the wild deer; a’chasing the wild deer, and following the roe; my heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.”

May 27, 2012
Posters recall Cannon’s 1880 opponent
In 1980, John Mendenhall found three 1880 J. R. Scott campaign posters in a home he was restoring.

May 27, 2012 1 Photo
Longtime teacher finishes with kindergarten
Jan Hershberger earned her undergraduate degree to teach kindergarten, but it wasn’t until her final six years in the classroom that she had a chance to do it.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Police to give away bikes
May 26, 2012
Picnic planned for elderly
May 26, 2012
‘I enjoy it. I really do’
The gymnasium at Laura Lee Fellowship House was buzzing with activity Thursday afternoon. Dozens of children ran around the gym, bounced basketballs and jumped rope on the eve of the last day of school in District 118.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Conservation police on watch
The unofficial start to the summer season is upon us and local and state law enforcement are prepared to cover both land and water to keep the holiday safe.

May 25, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Fossil forest found in coal shaft

Site Map

Contact Us