Took an over-night trip to The Pertified Forest National Park. There is also a portion of The Painted Desert National park there as well. These are some shots from that trip.


PETRIFIED FOREST
Petrfied wood fossils are pieces of trees that lived in ancient ecosystem. Logs were buried in layers of sediment along a great river system, the silica gradually replacing organic material. The rainbow of colors comes from traces of minerals such as iron and manganese oxides. The petrified wood found in Northern Arizona is from the Late Triassic, over 200 million years ago. Petrified wood is the official State Fossil of Arizona

PAINTED DESERT
Distinct white layers are sandstone. The caps on some hills are clay. Dark layers are caused by high carbon content. Darker reds are iron-stained siltstone. Reddish layers are stained by iron oxide., which is also called hematite