Tangle Creek got its name because it is a network of separate channels that cross and recross each other. As channels change, the flooding kills the lodge pole pines living on the banks. With the trees still standing, the heavy concentration of silica in the thermal water is soaked up like a sponge by the dead tree trunks creating the white "bobby sock" trees. This silica, a non-crystalline compound, slowly impregnates the wood and over time, with the absence of oxygen, could...
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Tangle Creek got its name because it is a network of separate channels that cross and recross each other. As channels change, the flooding kills the lodge pole pines living on the banks. With the trees still standing, the heavy concentration of silica in the thermal water is soaked up like a sponge by the dead tree trunks creating the white "bobby sock" trees. This silica, a non-crystalline compound, slowly impregnates the wood and over time, with the absence of oxygen, could eventually petrify the wood.
Consequently, these skeletal remains stay standing for a very long time.
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