Petrified Wood Log

An ancient tree turned to stone, cell by cell/Geology & Minerals

Petrified wood forms when fallen trees are buried under sediment and mineral-rich water gradually replaces the organic material with silica, calcite, or pyrite, preserving the original wood structure at a cellular level. A typical museum specimen is about 1 meter long and 30 cm in diameter, weighing roughly 180 kg. The Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona contains logs over 60 meters long dating back 225 million years to the Late Triassic period.