Goudberg, Hoegaarden, Flemish Brabant, Flanders, Belgiumi

Regional Level Types
Goudberg	Occurrence (Tourist Attraction)
Hoegaarden	Protected Area
Flemish Brabant	Province
Flanders	Region
Belgium	Country

“The Geosite Goudberg is an educational exhibition park in Hoegaarden in Belgium. The park is home to a petrified forest of bald cypresses from the Paleocene, which is unique in Western Europe due to its size. It provides an overview of 55 million years of geological history.

During the construction of the E40 in 1970, dozens of petrified trees came to light in Hoegaarden. At the time, there was not enough time to save them. During the preliminary study of the high-speed railway line Brussels-Cologne alongside the highway in the early 1990s, the necessary measures could be taken.

In March 2000, the petrified trees were excavated from the clay and silt layer. Two large trees were moved to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels; another large specimen ended up in the Museum Naturalis in Leiden.

The entire tree has been transformed into a stone version of itself, preserving the internal characteristics of the wood. This slow process is called silicification.

The petrified trees are the remnants of a 54.9 million-year-old subtropical swamp forest. Similar remains of fossil trees have been found in Overlaar, Oorbeek and Wommersom. The forest was therefore of considerable size.

Microscopic examination of the trees' structure has determined that these trees are the remains of bald cypresses. Related species still grow in swamps in the United States (genus Taxodium in Florida and Georgia) and in China and Vietnam (genus Glyptostrobus).”