The Arizona Desert Where Fallen Trees Transformed Into a Kaleidoscope of Quartz, Amethyst and Jasper

Petrified Forest National Park

The Petrified Forest National Park sits in northeastern Arizona, holding one of the world’s biggest collections of petrified wood from the Late Triassic period, about 225 million years ago.

These fossilized trees were part of a huge prehistoric forest that was buried by volcanic ash and sediment. As time passed, groundwater rich in silica flowed through the buried logs, slowly turning their wood into colorful minerals like quartz.

Today, these crystallized logs, some weighing several tons, create a park unlike any other in North America.

The Colors and Patterns in Petrified Wood

Different minerals have left their mark on the petrified logs, creating an amazing range of colors. Iron makes the reds and browns, while manganese creates blues and purples in the stone.

Clear quartz gives the logs their white sections, and carbon turns some parts black, with a few rare pieces showing pink from other minerals. Each log has its own special pattern of these colors, and the minerals have kept the wood’s structure so well that you can see tree rings and patterns in the bark.

The Giant Trees of the Ancient Forest

The trees that turned to stone were huge conifers that looked like today’s Norfolk Island Pines. These prehistoric trees grew over 200 feet tall and were as wide as 9 feet across.

You can find the biggest unbroken log in the Crystal Forest area. The park’s most common petrified tree type is Araucarioxylon arizonicum, which Arizona chose as its state fossil because so many good examples were found here.

What Scientists Have Found in the Park

Scientists have found a number of different kinds of plants from the Late Triassic period in the layers of rock. Along with the trees, they’ve discovered old ferns, cycads, and some of the first flowering plants. The same rocks hold bones from early dinosaurs like Coelophysis, large reptiles that looked like crocodiles, and small early mammals.

Plants and Animals Living in the Park Today

Modern life thrives in the park’s different environments from colorful badlands to grassy plains. Quick pronghorn antelope and coyotes move through the grasslands, while golden eagles and prairie falcons fly overhead.

In spring, flowers like Indian paintbrush and desert marigolds add bright colors to the dry land. Near the Puerco River, cottonwood and willow trees grow thick, giving homes to traveling birds and desert animals.

How Nature Shaped the Landscape

The hills in the Blue Mesa show off stripes of purple and grey rock that water and wind have carved over millions of years. These natural forces keep shaping the land today, washing away soft dirt to reveal more petrified logs.

In the Painted Desert, the rocky hills change from red to orange as the sun moves across the sky. The Tepees area features cone-shaped hills with bands of blue, purple, and grey minerals running through them.

Signs of Ancient Human Life in the Park

People have found over 1000 archaeological sites in the park including petroglyphs and evidence of human occupation spanning over 13,000 years, from one-room shelters to pueblos with hundreds of rooms.

Left-behind items like decorated pottery, stone tools, and traded goods show that different groups of people lived here and traded with others from far away.

What the Petrified Wood Reveals About Ancient Life

The process that turned wood to stone kept tiny details that tell us about life in the old forest. Scientists can see ancient fungus, holes where insects lived, and marks from forest fires that happened millions of years ago. Using strong microscopes, they study the cells in the wood, including growth rings and tubes that once carried water through the trees.

How Clear the Night Sky Is Above the Park

The park has some of the darkest night skies around, which earned it recognition as an International Dark Sky Park. On nights without a moon, people can see thousands of stars and the bright stripe of the Milky Way without telescopes.

The park’s distance from cities and its high location make it perfect for stargazing. The clean desert air lets visitors spot faraway galaxies and star clusters.

How the Park Protects Its Petrified Wood

Each year, visitors take about 25,000 pounds of petrified wood from the park, even though it’s against the law. The removal of petrified wood, even in small amounts, is a problem because it damages the park’s natural resources and the experience for future visitors.

The National Park Service has implemented measures to deter theft, including warning signage, hefty fines, and legal purchase options for petrified wood found outside the park boundaries.