Petrified Forest National Park lies in the Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona. The park contains one of the greatest and most colorful concentrations of petrified << PEHT ruh fyd >> wood in the world. Petrified wood is wood that has turned into stone. Giant logs of agatized wood (wood petrified into agate) lie flat on the ground, surrounded by broken sections and fragments. Visitors can view petrified wood and other park features while hiking on the park’s many trails. The park also contains dinosaur fossils and petroglyphs (rock carvings) made by Ancestral Pueblo peoples.
The park preserves petrified logs made up of coniferous tree trunks that were buried in mud, sand, or volcanic ash about 225 million years ago. Over the years, water containing dissolved mineral matter filled empty cells of the decaying wood and turned the logs to stone.
Nomadic people lived in and near the park more than 10,000 years ago. Archaeologists have discovered spear points from the era made of petrified rock. Fragments of pottery found in the area show that small groups of farming people lived there as early as A.D.300 to 1400. Today, much of the park consists of natural grassland and eroded badland areas.
The area became a national monument in 1906, and a national park in 1962. For the park’s area, see National Park System (table: National parks) .
