The forests in which the amber-bearing trees grew occupied an ancient continent called Fenoscandia.
In the Paleogene, this area included the present territories of Finland, Sweden, southern Norway, part of the Baltic Sea and the northern part of European Russia. The Scandinavian Mountains stretched to the North.
These forests may have appeared 45 million years ago and had grown for 10 million years.
There were many humid river valleys, lakes, puddles and swamps in the forest.
Based on the study of inclusions in the Baltic amber, scientists say that there was a large variety of plants in the forest. There grew oaks, araucaria, pine trees, beeches, red chestnuts, elms, laurels, willows, maple trees as well as palm trees, magnolias and cinnamon trees. Grasses, ferns and moss grew in the undergrowth. The soil of the amber forest was covered with a layer of organic matter and decomposing wood.
From the sizes of the amber nuggets formed in the resin pockets we can determine beyond doubt that the trees of the amber forest were huge.
Today, the amber forest can be found even in the very popular online game – Minecraft 🙂
