Petrified Wood at Petrified Forest N.P.

See the previous post for more info about the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. This post is about the petrified wood that we saw and photographed at the Petrified Forest National Park.

But first a definition for petrified wood from wikipedia:

Petrified wood (from the Greek root "petro" meaning "rock" or "stone", literally "wood turned into stone") is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. The petrifiaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen. Mineral-rich water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells and as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay away, a stone mould forms in its place. It probably takes less than 100 years for wood to petrify.



Petrified wood at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona



A petrified log

Elements such as manganese, iron and copper in the water/mud during the petrification process give petrified wood a variety of color ranges. Pure quartz crystals are colorless, but when contaminants are added to the process the crystals take on a yellow, red, or other tint.
Following is a list of contaminating elements and related color hues:

carbon - black
cobalt - green/blue
chromium - green/blue
copper - green/blue
iron oxides - red, brown, and yellow
manganese - pink/orange
manganese oxides - black/yellow

Petrified wood can preserve the original structure of the wood in all its detail, down to the microscopic level. Structures such as tree rings and the various tissues are often observed features.



Polished petrified wood from the visitor center



Zoomed in photo (same piece of petrified wood as above picture)




Polished petrified wood from the visitor center



Zoomed in photo (same piece of petrified wood as above picture)





Below are pictures of petrified wood at the park in their natural form: