I drove to Tucson last month to visit my son Brian and his
wife Laura. On the way back I took an
extra day to explore Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook,
Arizona. There are two main attractions
there, the painted desert and the petrified forest. Here is the story of the Petrified Forest.
Some people think they are going to see a standing forest
here, but the trees turned to stone after they fell and were washed downstream
and buried during the late Triassic period around 200 million years ago.
As millions of years passed, the buried logs absorbed water
and silica from volcanic ash which crystallized into quartz which often kept
some of the logs’ details.
Spectacular colors were added by various minerals. The colors in this photo have not been
altered.
The crystallized logs were harder than the soil where they
were buried. Over time, erosion removed
the surrounding dirt and the logs surfaced.
Sometimes the logs helped reduce the erosion under them, leaving them
balanced on a narrow ridge.
Many of the huge logs look like they have been sectioned
with a chainsaw. This happened when they
were still buried and earth movement caused forces that snapped the crystallized
logs like breaking glass rods.
The petrified logs are mostly in the southern part of the
park, but if you go be sure to see the painted desert in the north as well.
I hope you enjoy the photos, but remember they are
copyrighted. Please don’t use them
without permission.
