Petrified wood
Petrified wood (from the Greek root Petro meaning "rock" or "stone"; literally "wood turned into stone") is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of per mineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. Unlike other types of 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 under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition.
Petrified Wood Media
- Polished slice of petrified wood.jpg
Polished slice of a petrified tree from the Late Triassic Period (approximately 230 million years ago) found in Arizona. The remains of insects can be detected in an enlarged image.
- PetrifiedWood.jpg
Petrified log at the Petrified Forest National Park
- CallixylonBoisRadial.jpg
Microscopic view of petrified Callixylon wood
- Carnotit auf fossilisiertem Holz - St-George, Utah.jpg
Petrified wood mineralized with carnotite from St. George, Utah
- Cu petrified wood.jpg
Petrified wood from the Shinarump Formation at the Nacimiento Mine, Cuba, New Mexico. The brown wood at right *shows conventional silica mineralization. The black wood at left shows unusual mineralization with chalcocite and other sulfide minerals. The blue-green stains are from oxidation of the chalcocite to azurite and malachite.
- Table bois fossile.jpg
Table constructed from petrified wood
- ElKurruPetrified Wood.jpg
Chunk of petrified wood near El Kurru (Northern Sudan)
- Petrified tree trunk and Welwitschia (Namibia).jpg
Petrified log and Welwitschia at Namibia Petrified forest
- Petrified Forest National Park Wood.jpg
Petrified logs at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, USA
- Parque paleobotânico de Mata..JPG
Petrified log in Paleorrota geopark, Brazil
