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A 50 million year old fossil has been uncovered in the Ekati diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
The fossilized piece of redwood was preserved by solidified magma from a prehistoric eruption, and indicates that Canada’s frigid north was once host to a far warmer climate which permitted rich forest growth.
According to Live Science the fossil was uncovered 315 meters below the Earth’s surface in a kimberlite pipe – a volcanic pipe formed when magma pushes through fractures in the Earth’s crust and which is a frequent source of diamond deposits.
Scientists say the site of the mine, which is located just south of the Arctic Circle, would have once been covered with a forest of prehistoric redwoods, some of which were engulfed by an eruption of magma from deep below the earth’s surface over 50 million years ago.
The specimen is believed to be the oldest of its type ever uncovered in the region, exceeding northern Canada’s Axel Heiberg fossil forest by millions of years in age.
26 Comments
Vasco
why don’t you ask god where the gold is?
geobob
Carbonized wood is not uncommon in some volcanic complexes – subaerial volcanic flow breccias or and volcanic “pipes” (a.k.a. diatremes). Magma rising through ground water can cause violent “phreatomagmatic” explosions, and any trees in the vicinity may fall into the resulting craters along with younger volcanic debris and sediments. Wood fragments, pine tree trunks up to 1+ meter long, and even preserved bird tracks are reported at >3,000 ft (~1,000m) depths in underground gold mines at Cripple Creek Colorado, an Oligocene-aged “nested diatreme complex” that has yielded >20 million oz Au.
Kimberlites of the Lac de Gras district are in the age range 86-47 million years, with the two known commercial kimberlites (Ekati, Diavik) dated at 55-52 Ma.
William Oosterman
The 50 million year guess is just that. Carbon 14 dating is only accurate up to around 10,000 years. Weird how they toss out 50 MILLION year numbers as facts when it is just a guess!
funnyguy
Kimberlite pipes are the result of highly explosive volcanism directly from the mantle. The explosion leaves a large, deep hole in the crust giving the pipe the distinctive “carrot” shape. Fall out debris from the explosion often finds itself buried deeply in these crators. It’s not magic, it’s science, and has nothing to do with a flood.
Stan
There is a word for ‘OLD’ in the Old Testament, it‘s “Olam” and it means ‘time out of mind, past or future‘. The context dictates ‘Time past, out of mind’ meaning it was so long ago our minds can not comprehend it. I’m a Christian who knows the scriptures very well and that the bible declares an “eternity past” so long ago our minds don‘t comprehend it. – and we wonder why folks make ignorant comments about our faith. Very cool find of the 50 million year old fossil tree!
mitch mortensen
Nice!
sj_ken
Jules Verne was right! The center of the Earth is hollow and at least once had life. This tree stump that is in the middle of a lava flow is proof! How else can you explain a tree stump in the middle of a lava chamber?
Realistic Geologist
This is garbage…how can a tree survive in a lava flow from a kimberlite pipe…stop feeding us trash that makes no sense..This is the way old earth belivers make their case..by stating stupid information and not even thinking about what they are saying..but making sure we get the message that the earth is old..its not..
Process Eng
“Realistic Geologist” is still upset that he/she failed geology 101
wags
I believe in Divine creation, I also believe that the earth is 5 billion years old (give or take a little. I appolagize for theseLudites who have tried to co-opt the Bible. For some reason they think that geologists and evolutionists have put their heads together in some sort of conspiratorial effort to remove God from the equation. I know that there is enough academic competion (rivalry) to preclude such collusion.
Maxwell Addo
well, is possible since the diamond crystals may have been formed before reaching the surface of the in the kimberlites..
hydro-frac a sauras!
I have a piece in my garage… i used to work there. It still burns. Ultimate in unfriendly envirmental behavior woukd be to BBQ meat with 50 MA charcoal! Just sayin…
Earth Scientist
This is not fossilized wood. This is real preserved 50 million year old wood. There is at least one peer reviewed scientific paper on the subject entitled: “Pristine Early Eocene Wood Buried Deeply in Kimberlite from
Northern Canada”. The link to this paper is: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0045537
I have seen and held this wood, in my own hands, pieces up to several feet long and perhaps up to a foot in diameter, fresh from the enclosing unconsolidated lake sediments as it was being excavated out of the pits. The surface of the wood is charred but the inner core of the wood is pristine and even smells like redwood when first exposed to the atmosphere. These are not volcanic eruptions but are kimberlitic explosions which quickly buried the redwood rain forest in enveloped cratonic debris. A biblical creationist interpretation of these findings are not required, thank you very much!
mitch mortensen
Thank you for the more detailed explanation but Its also interesting to note in the article “indicates that Canada’s frigid north was once host to a far warmer climate which permitted rich forest growth.” The word “Indicates” is rather confusing. I have always understood from experience that the Yukon was a tropical zone at one time and the Yukon river flowed southernly. The “muck” stripped as overburden for placer mining is actually a rich top soil. I have heard stories from people saying that there are plant spores frozen in the permafrosted muck that once exposed to the summer sun (stripping overburden) the spor grows into a plant, dies off in the fall and does not come back in the following year. May I impose on you to clarify this. thanks.
Subrata Paul Geologist,
The Redwood Tree fossil near a Kimberlite pipe is a strange anamoly in geological terms as in that erruption phase, any tree or similar materials will be burnt to ashes in a volatile environment unless there is afreak accident to have a gap of Pumice stone& ashes & not molten lava (magma) coming in contact with the tree. I feel this may be because of some faulting & shaering when this Fossil tree moved to this present location. In Plate Tectonic theory, this Mine at 50 MYA Canada was placed much down south from the present near Arctic Cicle location so Climate would have been much moderate for this redwood tree growth in somewaht temperate climate settings..
Ross McArthur
Nope. Not 50m years. Only one explanation, a pre-flood world. Explains palm trees Scott saw under the Antarctic ice, too. The problem “scientists” (read “evolutionists”) have is they can’t or won’t get to grips with the possibility of an environment far different than this present, cursed world. Most of the planet was covered in lush vegetation (hence the masses of coal seams) and an atmosphere of greater pressure and oxygen levels (hence the mass of fossil fuels). There was no polar ice, the earth wasn’t kilted over 23 deg therefore that explains the constant temps. Factor THAT into any scientific model – a model that is easily proved by unbiased science- it easily explains the fossil finds. But ‘objective’ scientists are few on the ground nowadays, when their jobs and funding are threatened if they don’t hold to the evolutionist theo- (sorry) dogma. Oh? You’re opposed to this “crackpot” notion? Yet you’d rather follow the close-minded bigots, with degrees and doctorates out the wazoo, who are stumped by the simple find of fossil redwoods? And here was I, thinking science was supposed to be ‘open-minded, objective, pursuing all possibilities’. Silly me. I wonder what they’d think of the metal bells found in coal, crafted necklaces found in coal, shoe-prints found on trilobytes, ‘index fossils’ found alive in the Pacific ocean today. But I doubt the ‘scientific community’ would want that conflicting evidence screwing up their cosy hold on the gullible. . .
fanny may cartwright
Metal bells? Crafted necklaces? Silly me? How about “credulous me”? It doesn’t take a lot of fancy-shmancy degrees “up the wazoo” to cite your sources. So what are they, Mr. MacAuthur? Who’s wazoo is the crack-pottedness coming from?
rox
Are you seriously promoting this Creationist nonsense on a mining website? A website frequented by people who actually understand and apply real science to find natural resources (i.e., gold, coal, diamonds, oil) and make billions in the process?
What have Creationist armchair ‘geologists’ found using their bankrupt theory? Zilch.
When you silly Creationists have successfully tested your ‘theory’ in real-world applications and are making billions as a result, we’ll start listening. Until then, stick to your own websites and Creationist museums where you can continue your facade of intellectualism and bilking the ignorant out of their hard-earned money.
rob Towner
I have worked on several diamond projects 1,400 million years ago is when most diamonds are dated especially kimberlitic eruption deposits. 50 million years ago seems a bit young!!!! The stump is quite an anomally that many meters below the present surface and certainly curious. Kinda like a stump falling into mt st helens crater and surviving the heat of eruption not likely. any other theories??
Chrisjan
Diamonds are much older than the kimberlites they are found in. Therin lies the mystery of how they form. Canadian kimberlites are much younger than the African ones…more along the lines of 50 to 250Mya.
stan
Earth Scientist, with all due respect, It wasn’t an interpretation. It is a fact and its research is simple. Just as I believe what you’re stating if fact and very interesting. Look up ‘fossil’ in the dictionary and its different applications. The language I used is correct in its context. Your misenterpretation of how I meant it is understandable. And, your welcome!
stan
To hopefully keep this about mining and finds, I set up many gold and silver mines in Nevada in the 80’s and 90’s and started buying gold and silver commemoratives in the mid 80’s. I returned to buying silver bullion the last couple of years and now holding strong. While setting up REA Gold in ‘95, I met a paleontologist who showed me an arthropod she had found that week just outside Ely. Looking at some pics just now, I believe it was a phacops rana milleri. That fascinated me and it’s why I find all this interesting. Because it’s there.
Eugene
Has anyone thought to ask God, I bet he knows
Fossil Smasher
both sides of this stupid debate are starting to not make any sense. You smart assed Geologist so proud that you can find diamonds by using scientific methods just so that you and the Zionist pigs controlling this slave planet can steal them from all humanity and make billions, AND you Bible pushing freaks of nature who support a religion that murdered millions of people why don’t one of you come up with the definite correct answer? Everything you say to support each others theories just does not pass the bull shit test. So here is an honest question from a layperson. If this was a buried red wood forest, THEN Where are the rest of the trees? Why only one and this one is so special? Was this the miracle tree perhaps, maybe the one Adam got the apple?
William Oosterman
True followers of Christ kill NO ONE. They turn the other cheek. True followers of ATHEISIM – when they form governments – Marxist – they have so far killed 160,000,000 – 160 MILLION people to advance their workers paradise. Atheists kill – Christians love and forgive and build hospitals and schools!
Imigrant from Lala Land
Seriously? was there a golden apple too?