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Petrified Forest National Park
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park, 93,533 acres (37,881 hectares), E Ariz.; est. as a national monument 1906, designated a national park 1962. A part of the Painted Desert, it contains the largest known display of petrified wood in the world. There are six separate forests, with great logs of jasper and agate lying on the ground surrounded by the varied colors of endless fragments and small chips. Dating from the Triassic period, these stone trees were killed by natural processes, such as fire, insect attacks, and fungus (or rot). The trees were deeply buried in mud and sand that contained silica-rich volcanic ash. The logs became petrified as the mineral, carried into the wood by groundwater, replaced the wood cells. As the surrounding material was eroded away, the petrified trees were exposed on the surface. Prehistoric Native Americans lived among the stone trees; ruins of their dwellings and their petroglyphs (ancient rock art) remain. Although the first known report of the petrified forests was made by Lt. Lorenzo Sitgreaves, an army officer who explored the area in 1851, they were virtually unknown until the late 1870s. See National Parks and Monuments (table).

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Wikipedia search results for: Petrified Forest National Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Petrified Forest National Park is a U.S. National Park along Interstate 40 between Holbrook and Navajo, Arizona in the United States. It features one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, mostly of the species Araucarioxylon arizonicum. The park consists of two large areas connected by a north–south corridor. The northern area encompasses part of the multicolored badlands of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation called the Painted Desert. The southern area includes colorful terrain and several concentrations of petrified wood. Several American Indian petroglyph sites are also found in the southern area. Near...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Petrified Forest National Park
Results 1 - 10  of 173
  • Theodore Roosevelt National Park

    Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 70,447 acres (28,531 hectares), W N.Dak., in the Badlands and on the Little Missouri River; est. 1947. There are three units—the North Unit, the Elkhorn Ranch...

  • Yellowstone National Park

    Yellowstone National Park, 2,219,791 acres (899,015 hectares), the world's first national park (est. 1872), NW Wyo., extending into Montana and Idaho. It lies mainly on a broad plateau in the ...

  • New Forest National Park

    New Forest National Park, c.220 sq mi (570 sq km), Hampshire and Wiltshire, S England. Lying mainly in the New Forest dist., SW Hampshire, between the cities of Bournemouth and Southampton, it...

  • Painted Desert

    Painted Desert, badlands on the northeastern bank of the Little Colorado River, NE Ariz., stretching c.200 mi (320 km) SE from the Grand Canyon; includes Petrified Forest National Park. Striki...

  • National Parks and Monuments (table)

    National Parks and Monuments1BFBattlefieldBPBattlefield ParkBSBattlefield SiteHPHistorical ParkHSHistoric SiteHTHistoric TrailISInternational Historic SiteLSLakeshoreMMMemorialMOMonumentMPMili...

  • National Forest System

    National Forest System, federally owned reserves, c.191 million acres (77.4 million hectares), administered by the Forest Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The system is made up of 155...

  • Kafue National Park

    Kafue National Park, c.8,650 sq mi (22,400 sq km), S central Zambia, S Africa; est. 1950. It is a haven for the animal and bird life of a diverse region that includes grasslands, forests, and ...

  • Voyageurs National Park

    Voyageurs National Park, 218,200 acres (88,340 hectares), N Minnesota. The park contains forested lake country noted for its sports fishing and glacial features. In the 18th cent. the region w...

  • Congaree National Park

    Congaree National Park, 21,888 acres (8,862 hectares), central S.C., est. as Congaree Swamp National Monument 1976, designated a national park and renamed 2003. Located along the north bank of...

  • Shenandoah National Park

    Shenandoah National Park, 198,081 acres (80,195 hectares), N Va., extending 80 mi (129 km) along the crest of the Blue Ridge. Authorized in 1926, it was fully established as a national park in...

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