The Bruneau Woodpile: A Miocene Phosphatized Fossil Wood Locality in Southwestern Idaho, USA

• Main Authors: Mike Viney, George E. Mustoe, Thomas A. Dillhoff, Paul K. Link
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-09-01
• Series: Geosciences
• Subjects: apatite; carbonate-fluorapatite; Chalk Hills Formation; Chalk Hills Lake; ancient Lake Idaho; Idaho; Mount Saint Helens; Snake River Plain; phosphatized wood; paleobotany; Bruneau Woodpile; petrified wood
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/7/3/82

The Bruneau Woodpile site has long been popular among fossil collectors; however, the deposit has received scant attention from scientists. Our research reveals that the fossilized wood was deposited ca. 6.85 Ma, within the Chalk Hills Formation, and was mineralized with carbonate-fluorapatite. The diverse assemblage of conifers and hardwoods is representative of the warm temperate forests that flourished in southwest Idaho, USA during the late Miocene. Limb and trunk fragments preserved in a single thin sandstone bed appear to represent woody debris that was transported by streams. One possible explanation is that wood, pumice, and sandy volcaniclastic sediment arrived separately as a result of ordinary stream action, and later were combined into a single assemblage during a subsequent high-energy sedimentation event. We favor an alternate hypothesis: a catastrophic event (e.g., a windstorm) damaged trees on slopes bordering the ancient lake. Branches and small trunk fragments were carried by wind and rain into local streams and ponds where they became waterlogged. After a delay that allowed pumice and wood to become saturated, storm water transported these materials, along with finer volcaniclastic sediment, into a lake. The resulting density current produced a fining-upward sedimentary cycle where wood was preserved in the lowest, coarsest stratum.