In a stunning revelation from melting ice in the Rocky Mountains, researchers have uncovered an impeccably preserved ancient forest hidden deep within the Beartooth Plateau, which sits at over 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). Once a barren tundra, the landscape now hosts a thriving whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forest that was frozen in time for thousands of years.
cooled temperatures approximately 5,500 years ago locked the trees in place, preserving their structure and condition nearly perfectly. Now, as these ancient ice patches begin to melt due to climate change, researchers are piecing together clues about this transformative landscape’s past. Their findings were recently published in the journal *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* on December 30, 2024.
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pristine-ancient-forest-frozen-in-time-discovered-in-rocky-mountains