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About Petrified Wood

Petrified wood is material of true beauty. Believe it or not, pieces of petrified wood, which seem to be very much like rocks to folks who are unfamiliar with it, used to be living organisms. In fact, they are fossils of a sort-fossilized plants. Before you get too excited about collecting specimens, however, consider this: collecting is frequently against the rules. Instead, admire the petrified wood where it lies and take plenty of artistic photos to share with other fans.

History
- Millions of years ago, the Earth's ecology was very different than it is today, and forests covered the landscape in places that today are grasslands and even deserts. Huge but natural processes knocked those forests to the ground, and the process of petrification took over, replacing the organic materials in the trees with mineral deposits. The result is fossilized trees that resemble quartz as much as anything.
Types
- Petrified wood is as varied in appearance as a living oak and a pine and a fern are. Some trees were fossilized while still standing; others fell to the ground, where they changed over time to rock. Pieces can range in size from huge (an entire toppled tree, without branches) to small. The wood displays a wide variety of colors and patterns, depending on the species of tree and the type of mineralization; impurities add color.
Significance
- UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) identifies Petrified Forest National Park, located in Arizona in the United States, as a World Heritage Site of "Outstanding Universal Value." Created in 1906, the park is a living museum that features the fossilized remains of plants and animals; it offers both scientist and lay person a peek into this part of the world as it existed during the Triasic period, between 225 and 205 million years ago.
Geography
- There are a small number of sizable petrified forest settings around the world, including Lesvos Island in Greece and Ischigualasto Provincial Park in Argentina. The forest on Lesvos is a much more recent forest, formed only 20 million years ago; the wild landscape that characterizes the Argentinian forest led to the name, "Valley of the Moon," for that feature.
Considerations
- If you visit any national park or site dedicated to the preservation of petrified forests and petrified wood, do not try to grab a piece of the wood for yourself. It is illegal to collect petrified wood from Lesvos, Petrified Forest National Park and Ischigualasto. Many people who did manage to cart off a piece without being caught returned it later, claiming they encountered nothing but bad luck from their pilfered pieces.

Fossil Collecting