Photos from our Motorcycle trip in August, 2005.
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Picture #101 - A Petrified Forest for Sale
None of the petrified wood in this shop came from the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, but all from private surrounding lands, shown in this picture of Wayne taken with our throwaway camera from San Francisco.
Information about Petrification
Imagine standing in a lush semi-tropical forest with a 200 foot canopy of
conifers and tropical flora. Slow moving streams and swamps populated with fish,
clams, fallen logs and reptiles moved like blue ribbons that drained into an
inland sea. A range of volcanic mountains called the Mogollon Highland filled
the southern skyline, the source of the streams and rivers.
It is a scene that is hard to imagine 225 million years later, when the land we
see today is an arid desert scattered with wood that has since turned to stone.
Petrified wood is real wood that has turned into rock composed of quartz
crystals.
One of the greatest concentrations of petrified wood in the world is found in
the Petrified Forest National Park in northeast Arizona. Logs as long as 200
feet and 10 feet in diameter have been found in the park.
What turned the wood to stone?
Petrified wood has been preserved for millions of years by the process of
petrification. This process turns the wood into quartz crystal, which is very
brittle and shatters. Even though petrified wood is fragile, it is also harder
than steel.
Petrified wood is known for its exquisite color and detail. Some pieces of
petrified wood have retained the original cellular structure of the wood; the
grain can easily be seen. Petrified wood can be found throughout the desert
regions. It is easy to find and identify. It is used often in jewelry making and
for other types of decorative artwork.
What is petrification?
The process of petrification starts with three raw ingredients: wood, water and
mud. Petrification of the wood found in the Petrified Forest began during the
Triassic Period when the primitive conifers fell to the ground and into the
waterways, entering into their journey through time. The logs were swept and
tumbled downstream with sediment and other debris. The streams traveled through
a plain of lakes and swamps where the wood, sediment and debris were deposited
along the way.
Four hundred feet of sediment was deposited in the plain by the rivers that
originated from the Mogollon Highland volcanic mountain range. That layer of
sediment is known today as the Chinle Formation. As the logs were deposited in
the plain they were buried with mud and debris, beginning the petrification
process.
The mud that covered the logs contained volcanic ash, a key ingredient in the
petrification process. When the volcanic ash began to decompose it released
chemicals into the water and mud. As the water seeped into the wood the
chemicals from the volcanic ash reacted to the wood and formed into quartz
crystals. As the crystals grew over time, the wood became encased in the
crystals which, over millions of years, turned the wood into stone.
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