Petrified Forest National Park

Easily accessible from exit 311 on I-40 in Northeast Arizona lies the Petrified Forest NP. Here I found fossils older than the oldest of my old fossil friends. The fossilized trees in the park started out in lush swampy lands more than 225 million years ago.

Petrified trees are not uncommon, they are found in all 50 states and in most countries around the world. The abundance here in the park, however, is greater than any other area in the world. The process that allowed the cells of the trees to be replaced by colorful crystal patterns is amazing, leaving behind beautiful “stone” trees.



The trees were immense, some over 200 feet tall. Although there are much larger and longer examples in the park, this picture gives you the idea.



PFNP isn’t restricted to fossilized trees. A portion of the park is in the famous Arizona Painted Desert. At sunrise and sunset the desert colors come out in full strength.



The land is rugged and was primarily formed by millions of years of sediment build up. It was sculpted into its current “badland” look by erosion from both wind and water. The colors come from the varied makeup of the layers of sediment. White layers are usually sandstone, reds are from iron stains, and layers of volcanic ash also contribute unique colors.



The land was also used by native tribes over the last 10,000 years. They were thoughtful enough to leave behind not only ruins of their dwellings, but their art work in the form of petroglyphs.



The park is also the site of many active research sites for paleontologists endlessly trying to sort out the animal and plant fossils in order to figure out what it was like 225 million years ago.