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HomeNature225 Million Year Old Petrified Opal Tree Trunk Located In Arizona

225 Million Year Old Petrified Opal Tree Trunk Located In Arizona

Arizona is one of those American states that is characterized by dry, strong winds and deserts, an environment that dries skin and makes sun exposure dangerous.

Arizona represents the autonomous, high-rolling lifestyle of past and contemporary American individualism.

More Info: NPS.gov

It lacks the scenery of woods and woodlands, although Arizona was once so millions of years ago, and Petrification National Park is located in the northeastern portion of the state.

Eruptions from nearby volcanoes blanketed the area in volcanic ash, which introduced silica into the groundwater

What became of the wood created in this manner in the majestic rock trees of Arizona’s forests? They think that petrified wood was discovered in prehistoric times.

It is assumed that fossil wood formed when plant debris became lodged in the mud. Wood is protected from degradation caused by oxygen and organisms when it is buried deep in mud.

he land within present-day Arizona was at the time a lush subtropical forest filled with the ancestors of present-day conifers

Because the wood is held in deep water, groundwater minerals such as silica, calcite, and pyrite pass through the sediment, replacing the original plant material.

Even highly costly materials, like wood, may enter opal. As a result, a fossil of early woody material is formed, with retained characteristics of bark, wood, and cellular structures.

The story of Arizona’s petrified wood started about 225 million years ago during the Late Triassic period,

The park is 146 square miles in size. It’s dusty and windy, but because it’s at 5,400 feet elevation, it’s not as scorching as lower-elevation desert locations, and it’s largely covered with grasses rather than cactus and other desert vegetation.

Eruptions from nearby volcanoes blanketed the area in volcanic ash, which introduced silica into the groundwater

Of course, the main draw here is the petrified trees that grew here around 225 million years ago when this section of Arizona was at a very low height along the coast of the Great Ocean to the west.

Along with trees, several fossil species like as freshwater snails, huge amphibians, reptiles such as crocodiles, and early dinosaurs have been discovered here.

As groundwater flowed through, the wood absorbed silica through a process known as “capillary attraction” allowing fossilization to occur.
Petrified Forest National Park is another world-class tourist site in the area, straddling Interstate 10 about 70 or 80 miles east of Meteor Crater.
At times volcanic ash was deposited on fallen trees in the forest here, and silica in the ash was dissolved by water and entered the trees, fossilizing them.

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