Petrified Forest & Painted Desert

Today we left Pat's house and started our trip again. First we went to the Petrified Forest and then to the Painted Desert. They are both together in the same area.

This is a piece of petrified wood. Note the many colors and the rings of the tree. This area was once a vast flood plain. The trees were Conifer trees. When the trees fell, they were carried by the streams into the flood plains. A mix of silt, mud, and volconic ash buried the logs. This sediment cut off the oxygen and slowed the logs decay. Silica-laden groundwater seeped into the logs and replaced the original wood tissue with silica deposits. Eventually the silica crystallized into quartz and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.

Another shot of a field full of these logs. These were everywhere.

This is the Painted Desert. The white layers are sandstone. The darker areas are caused by high carbon content. The darker reds are iron-stained siltstone. The reddish bases are stained by iron oxide.

Another picture showing the colorful layers of the Painted Desert.

Tomorrrow, we are heading for Durango to see if we can catch a train ride.