About the Image(s)

Image made on October 1, 2025 in the Beartooth Wilderness Area in Wyoming, USA
Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR Lens
Settings: f/11 1/320 sec ISO 1250
These are known as “Bobby Socks Trees.” In the 1950’s they were called “Bobby Socks” trees after the popular socks teenage girls wore at that time and the name simply stuck. More commonly found in Yellowstone National Park, they are dead lodgepole pine trees whose lower trunks are coated in white silica-rich mineral deposits soaked up from the ground and concentrated mineral-laden water. Through evaporation, dissolved minerals in the water leave a crust of white silica on the bottom of the tree. This silica impregnates the wood and over time can petrify the wood.