Prehistoric Forest Unearthed Beneath Seattle Streets
Construction on the south sewer tunnel reveals evidence of a buried forest floor deep beneath the city's surface.
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Work on the south sewer tunnel has unearthed fascinating geological history. At a depth of 385 feet and 2,900 feet from the bay shore, workers discovered a large, rounded piece of bark, suggesting a forest existed here long after the glacial period. The wood, which resembles cedar, shows signs of having been rolled by ancient tidal waters. Near this site, an underground stream was encountered, accompanied by strange detonations and gusts of wind, a phenomenon yet to be fully explained. City Engineer Thomson suggests the clay found in this region has high commercial potential for manufacturing, provided the city can manage the persistent groundwater seepage.
“It may be that the great glacier which slid down the side of the Cascades... drove before it a forest and accompanying earth, which it flung up and formed into hills upon which to locate Seattle.”
This report captures the era of major civil engineering as Seattle literally reshaped its landscape. Today, the city’s complex underground utility tunnels and regraded hills continue to hide secrets of the region's ancient geological and Indigenous history.
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