Petrified Wood
Posted by Belle on 30 Jul 2007 at 09:23 pm | Tagged as: Uncategorized
The word, “petrify” literally means, “turn to stone.” Petrified wood, then, is wood that has turned into stone.
How is it formed? The process of petrification, which can take million of years, starts with three ingredients: wood, water, and mud. When a tree falls, it gets covered with dirt, and after an event such as flood, sediment covers the tree. As the tree rots, the soft spot between the trunk rings rot away and water fills the void and bring in various kinds of mineral deposits, also known as “permineralization.” If you look closely, you can see the rings and pores preserved from the original tree.
We had a chance to visit a Rock Store in Holbrook, Arizona, and saw tons of polished petrified wood that was made into coffee table. Prices range from $1,000 and up. To give you an idea of what the finished products look like, please visit this site.
I took these pictures of petrified wood, by the way, at the Rock Art Ranch.
We got petrified leaves and flowers here that they make into exportable handcrafted items.
Your posts are very instructive, Belle. Love em.
You’ve been to a lot of places belle, and we still have quite a bit to go befor summer ends.
I love your posts. Very informative but not boring. 
amazing! imagine wood turning into stone…:)
In HP, there’s this spell called the Petrificus Totalus…when they use this against someone, the receiver will automatically freeze or so I thought…now I know that they actually turn into stone
may natutunan ako sa post mo, ganun pala ang ibig sabihin at processo ng petrification. mahal siguro ng products na dumaain sa petrification.
Oh that’s way too cool! I’ve seen some at the museum but they already polished them, it’s great to see them naturally rustic.
I like nature trips and enjoy looking at the miracles of nature such as these… I have been to the Petrified Forest there in Arizona. Such an interesting place.
One year, in one of my estate sale trips I stumbled on a crate of these petrified trees and some other interesting rocks. The deceased was a collector. For ridiculously cheap price I hauled that crate home and displayed the petrified trees and the other interesting rocks all over my garden. And yes, they moved with me and will be moving with me wherever I go.
Thanks for sharing!!!