Abstract
Gemmules of five species of freshwater sponge found in deposits at Cedar Mountain bog in the southeastern Puget Lowland were used to infer that during the late-glacial period the water was calcareous, was not deficient in SiO2, was aerobic, and had a pH in the range 6.6–8.5. This is consistent with plant fossil data. In view of their paleoenvironmental potential it is worth looking for gemmules when extracting other fossils from lake sediments.