Petrified Forest National Park

The Petrified Forest National Park stretches over 93,000 acres and was first established as a National Mmonument by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1906.  It obtained National Park status in 1962.  Here is a shot overlooking the Rainbow Forest Museum at the south end of the park:

A petrified log sits in the center of the photo.  No, the person in the hat is not petrified yet!

During the late Triassic Period 200 million years ago, what is now the National Park lay at the equator on the super continent known as Pangaea.   Unlike the high dry grassland it is now, it was once a lush floodplain with numerous rivers and giant coniferous trees.  Varied other plant life and animals including dinosaurs lived here.  After dying or otherwise falling to the ground, many of the trees were buried by volcanic ash, mud and silt before they could decompose.  This sediment layer cut off contact with oxygen to some of the logs which slowed their decay.  A petrification process ensued which replaced the wood tissue with silica deposits.  Eventually the silica crystallized into quartz preserving the logs as petrified wood:

Though the above log on the Giant Logs Trail looks like wood, it contains none at all.  Here is another log termed "Old Faithful" on the same trail:

These logs of almost solid quartz weigh about 168 pounds per cubic foot.  Petrified wood is very hard but also brittle.  They can only be cut with a diamond tipped saw.     Here is another view from the trail.  Notice that "Old Faithful" is in the upper center of the photograph:

Here is another example of the petrified forest:

And one more example of a cross section of petrified tree glistening in tthe sunlight:

Since the Triassic Period, the super continent split up into our current continents and the region was uplifted by natural forces to the high desert we know today.   Erosion has since uncovered these fallen forests.  Petrified wood is not unique to this area of Arizona.  It can be found in all 50 states and many countries throughout the world.  This area is unique, however, because of the vast quantity of petrified logs present in one area. 

Most of the sites which are easily accessible to the public lie along the 28 mile park road which bisects the park north to south.  The panaramas the road provides are awe inspiring as documented before in the Painted Deseert blog.  There are many other unique sites in the park.  Here is a formation named "The Tepees:"

The layered blues, purples and grays of these cone-shaped formations are created by carbon, manganese and other minerals.

Through the centuries man has also inhabited this area.  About 1250 AD an approximate 100 room pueblo is thought to have housed nearly 1200 people.  This Puerco Pueblo is a large archeological site which has only been partially excavated,

The native people left many petroglyphs throughout the park at this pueblo site and at nearby "Newspaer Rock:"

Another very scenic area of the park is known as Blue Mesa.  The mudstone and bentonite clay formations show the effect of erosion on these badland hills. 

The clay minerals in the bentonite can absorb water to as much as seven times their dry volume.  The contraction and expansion of the surface creates a crusty and cracked surface that resembles elephant skin.

This park is one of those places that begs for a return trip.  Hopefully, someday we will oblige.