The forest that is next in size to the one a mile southeast of Junction
Butte is on Cache Creek, about 7 miles above its mouth. It is on the
south bank of the creek and covers several acres. The trunks are
scattered from bottom to top of the slopes through a height of probably
800 feet. Most of the trunks are upright, but only a few project more
than 2 or 3 feet above the surface. The largest one observed was 6 feet
in height and 4 feet in diameter. Most of these trunks appear to the
naked eye to be conifers, but a number are obviously dicotyledons—that
is, they were deciduous-leaved trees. The conifers, however, were the
predominant element in this as in the other fossil forests.
The slopes of the Thunderer, the mountain so prominently in view from
Soda Butte on the south, also bear numerous fossil trunks. Most of them
are upright, but only a very few project more than 2 feet above the
surface. No remarkably large trunks were observed at this locality, the
average diameter being perhaps less than 2 feet.