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Lodgepole Pines

These dead lodgepole pine trees are pioneers that did not survive. Establishing a toehold in thin new soil, they enriched it through natural recycling of minerals and organic material. In time the increasing humus would have nurtured a mature forest - if the trees hadn't drowned when nearby hot springs shifted. Silica also penetrated the trees and hardened their bases. Will lodgepoles ever grow again in this area? Perhaps. Time will tell.