"Petrified forest" redirects here. For a list of petrified forests, see § Occurrences. For the 1936 film, see The Petrified Forest. For the Japanese film, see The Petrified Forest (1973 film).
Polished slice of a petrified tree from the Late Triassic Epoch (approximately 230 million years ago) found in Arizona. The remains of insects can be detected in an enlarged image.Petrified log at the Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek πέτρα meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of fossilized wood, the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. Petrifaction is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having been replaced by stone via a mineralization process that often includes permineralization and replacement.[1] The organic materials making up cell walls have been replicated with minerals (mostly silica in the form of opal, chalcedony, or quartz). In some instances, the original structure of the stem tissue may be partially retained. Unlike other plant fossils, which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material.
The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried in water or volcanic ash. The presence of water reduces the availability of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition by bacteria and fungi. Mineral-laden water flowing through the sediments may lead to permineralization, which occurs when minerals precipitate out of solution filling the interiors of cells and other empty spaces. During replacement, the plant's cell walls act as a template for mineralization.[2] There needs to be a balance between the decay of cellulose and lignin and mineral templating for cellular detail to be preserved with fidelity. Most of the organic matter often decomposes, however some of the lignin may remain.[3] Silica in the form of opal-A, can encrust and permeate wood relatively quickly in hot spring environments.[4] However, petrified wood is most commonly associated with trees that were buried in fine grained sediments of deltas and floodplains or volcanic lahars and ash beds.[5][6] A forest where such material has petrified becomes known as a petrified forest.
^Mustoe, George (2017-11-20). "Wood Petrifaction: A New View of Permineralization and Replacement". Geosciences. 7 (4): 17. Bibcode:2017Geosc...7..119M. doi:10.3390/geosciences7040119.
^Leo, Richard; Barghoorn, Elso (1976-12-07). "Silicification of Wood". Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University. 25 (1): 47. doi:10.5962/p.295209. JSTOR 41762773.
^"Frequently Asked Questions - Petrified Forest National Park (U.S. National Park Service)".
^Akahane, Hisatada; Furuno, Takeshi; Miyajima, Hiroshi; Yoshikawa, Toshiyuki; Yamamoto, Shigeru (2004-07-15). "Rapid wood silicification in hot spring water: An explanation of silicification of wood during the Earth's history". Sedimentary Geology. 169 (3–4): 219–228. Bibcode:2004SedG..169..219A. doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2004.06.003.
^Muratal, Kiguma (1940-08-01). "Volcanic Ash as a Source of Silica for Silicification of Wood". American Journal of Science. 238 (8): 10. Bibcode:1940AmJS..238..586M. doi:10.2475/ajs.238.8.586. Archived from the original on 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
^Matysovà, Petral; Roßler, Ronny; Götz, Jens; Leichmann, Jaromír; Forbes, Gordon; Taylor, Edith; Sakala, Jakub; Grygar, Tomáš (2010-06-01). "Alluvial and Volcanic Pathways to Silicified Plant Stems (Upper Carboniferous-Triassic) and their Taphonomic and Paleoenvironmental Meaning". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimate, Palaeoecology. 292 (1–2): 17. Bibcode:2010PPP...292..127M. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.03.036.
Petrifiedwood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek πέτρα meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given...
Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrifiedwood, the park covers about 346 square miles (900 square kilometers), encompassing...
spaces with minerals. Petrifiedwood typifies this process, but all organisms, from bacteria to vertebrates, can become petrified (although harder, more...
found). Fossil wood may or may not be petrified, in which case it is known as petrifiedwood or petrified tree. The study of fossil wood is sometimes called...
imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrifiedwood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record...
National Park Service designated the Ginkgo Petrified Forest as a National Natural Landmark. Petrifiedwood was named the Washington state gem by the state...
and marine fossils, petrifiedwood and fossilized dinosaur bones over 150 million years old (Upper Jurassic Period). The Petrified Forest Trail is a one-mile...
The Lesvos Petrified Forest is a petrifiedwood forest on the island of Lesbos, Greece. The forest was formed from the fossilized remains of plants and...
where the wood has been completely replaced by opal. Other names for this opalized sheen-like wood are opalized wood and opalized petrifiedwood. It is often...
large petrified logs have been discovered on the Cherokee Ranch property; the castle on the ranch site includes more than 4,000 pieces of petrifiedwood in...
Palmoxylon (petrified palmwood) is an extinct genus of palm named from petrifiedwood found around the world. This genus is known in the fossil record...
2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018. Note: Sites are mentioned under the "Petrified-wood facts" column, which cites the Washington State Department of Natural...
precipitate or a diagenetic replacement, as in petrifiedwood. Chert is typically composed of the petrified remains of siliceous ooze, the biogenic sediment...
The Chemnitz petrified forest is a petrified forest in Chemnitz, Germany, that is part of the Early Permian Leukersdorf Formation. Most of the trunks...
dinosaur bones are permineralized. Petrifiedwood: Permineralization is the first step in petrification. In petrification, the cellulose cell walls are completely...
An example of this process is the replacement of wood by silica (quartz or opal) to form petrifiedwood in which the substitution may be so perfect as to...
acres) Petrified Forest National Park. There, these trunks are locally so abundant that they have been used as building materials. The petrifiedwood of this...
Guano Lloyds Bank coprolite Regurgitalith The World of Poo Petrifaction Petrifiedwood "coprolite". Dictionary.com. Gilbert MT, Jenkins DL, Götherstrom A,...
Mississippi Petrified Forest is a petrified forest located near Flora, Mississippi, in the United States. It is privately owned and open for public visits...
Turritella gastropods with elongated spiral shells. Similarly, coral, petrifiedwood, porous rocks and other organic remains can also form agate. Coldwater...
formation roughly 150 million years old. Some gastroliths are made of petrifiedwood. Most known instances of preserved sauropod gastroliths are from Jurassic...
national parks of Grand Canyon National Park, Saguaro National Park, and the Petrified Forest National Park. Arizona is well known for its desert Basin and Range...
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