Long before the city’s iconic skyline pierced the clouds and yellow taxis zipped through bustling streets, Manhattan was a world entirely unrecognizable to us—a place where ancient trees soared, giant ferns unfurled in the humid air, and not a single soul worried about rent. Imagine a New York so lush, so wild, that crocodile-like creatures slipped through swampy waters while dragonflies the size of dinner plates hovered overhead. It’s almost impossible to believe that beneath the concrete jungle lies the memory of a real one, a tropical forest teeming with life. Journey back in time, and you’ll find that Manhattan’s greatest secret is written not in its skyscrapers, but in the cryptic stones and fossils hidden far below our feet. This is the true, forgotten story of New York’s fossil forest—a tale of ancient wonders, lost worlds, and the astonishing power of nature to transform over eons.
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