Park can observe the petrified wood and photograph it however, collecting petrified wood in the park is prohibited. That is why areas of the Park are covered with a litter of petrified wood trunks, branches and fragments. Instead of eroding away, the wood accumulated on the ground surface as the surrounding mud rocks and ash layers were eroded away. The petrified wood is much harder and resistant to weathering than the mud rocks and ash deposits of theĬhinle. In the millions of years after the Chinle Formation was deposited, the area was uplifted and the rocks deposited above the Chinle These sediments, plant debris, and volcanic ash became part of a rock unit known today as the Chinle Formation. Trace amounts of iron, manganese and other minerals were included in the silica and gave the petrified wood a variety ofĬolors. The dissolved ash served as a source of silica that replaced the plant debris, creating petrified The soluble ash was dissolved by groundwaterįlowing through the sediments. Rapid burial allowed the plant debris to escape destruction by oxygen and insects. These eruptions blanketed the area in volcanic ash with a high silica content. Fallen trees and broken branches were often buried by Up to 9 feet in diameter and 200 feet tall lived and died in these lowlands. Rivers flooded by tropical rain storms washed mud and other sediments into the lowlands. About 225 million years ago, this area was a lowland with a tropical climate and covered by a denseįorest. The most famous locality for observing petrified wood is Petrified Forest National Park near the community of Holbrook in This specimen shows the growth rings, cellular structure, and external bark. Petrified wood: A nice piece of petrified wood representing a limb cross section. When the Chinle weathers away, the log will be lowered to the ground surface. At the top of the gulley, a "pedestal log" is suspended on a column of Chinle Formation. Petrified logs: An accumulation of petrified logs in a gulley at Petrified Forest National Park. These specimens with near-perfect preservation are unusual however, specimens that exhibit clearly recognizable bark and woody structures are very common. Some specimens of petrified wood are such accurate preservations that people do not realize they are fossils until they pick them up and are shocked by their weight. The result is a fossil of the original woody material that often exhibits preserved details of the bark, wood, and cellular structures. Then, groundwater rich in dissolved solids flows through the sediment, replacing the original plant material with silica, calcite, pyrite, or another inorganic material such as opal. It forms when plant material is buried by sediment and protected from decay due to oxygen and organisms. Send us feedback about these examples.Petrified wood is a fossil. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'petrified.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2022 Namibia, South Africa: The contrasting landscapes of Namibia are epic the deep orange sand dunes that climb 1,000 feet (about the height of the Empire State Building) in height, petrified forests that rise from the middle of the desert and a coastline that appears like a mirage. Peter Debruge, Variety, 12 June 2022 For cooler weather and fascinating places to explore, Teide National Park's volcanic landscape, petrified lava, and panoramic views are the perfect escape from the beach. Casey Mcquiston, Bon Appétit, 22 June 2022 Blaze stands petrified around the corner as the violent scene escalates, involuntarily sharing in the trauma of this brutal, fatal assault. 2022 In the gift shop your brother chases you around a rack of oven mitts with a petrified alligator head until your table is called. 2023 Kamoya Kimeu, the son of a goat herder whose preternatural gift for spotting and identifying petrified tibias, skull fragments and other ancient human remains among the arid, rocky badlands of East Africa won him acclaim as the world’s greatest fossil hunter, died on July 20 in Nairobi, Kenya. Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023 Then there were my parents’ collections of books and Japanese and German prints, American quilts and vintage fabrics, petrified stones and hunks of coral. 2021 Kenan's character is petrified that his wife (Brunson) will experience a terrible accident which will force him to give up his dreams to nurse her. Recent Examples on the Web Taken together, these films constitute a loose trilogy, making a virtue of the star’s weathering-and, by now, practically petrified-screen image, while riffing on the very legacy of that image.
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