National Parks:
Petrified Forest National Park

Arizona -- Petrified Forest National Park is a surprising land of scenic wonders and fascinating science. The park is located in northeastern Arizona and features one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood. Also included within Petrified Forest National Park are the multi-hued badlands of the Chinle Formation known as the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites and displays of 225-million-year-old fossils.

Long ago, this dry plateau was an extensive alluvial plain, crossed by many streams and rivers lined with galleries of trees. Reptiles similar to crocodiles, giant fish-eating amphibians, and small dinosaurs lived among a variety of ferns, cycads, and other plants and animals, many of which are known only as fossils today. The tall trees - mostly Araucarioxylon arizonicum - fell and were carried by swollen rivers and streams onto the floodplain. The logs were covered with clay, mud, and sand, that also contained volcanic ash. These sedimentary deposits cut off the oxygen and the decomposition of the logs slowed. Gradually, groundwater containing silica (quartz), soaked into the logs and little by little the original wood was replaced with the silica. This process slowly continued, with silica replacing all the organic tissue and preserving the logs as petrified wood. Other fossils were also discovered along with the wood, including 200 taxa of plants, arthropods, fish, and giant reptiles, representing a vibrant Late Triassic ecosystem.

As the hard logs were buried deeper in the layers of sedimentary rock, they cracked as they settled in the softer surrounding layers. Eventually, wind and water eroded layers of rock away, exposing the petrified logs and other fossils. This all occurred during the Late Triassic Period, about 225 million years ago. In time, the entire region uplifted and North America came to its modern-day position.

In addtion to geology and paleontology, there are other stories here. There are Archaeological sites in the park that suggest people have existed here for almost 10,000 years. The area was occupied during several periods - cultures beginning with nomadic hunter-gatherers to puebloan agriculturists and traders. Clues to these ancient people include pottery fragments, stone tools, and petroglyphs found within the park.

The climate has been relatively unchanged for thousands of years. The park is dominated by the shortgrass prairie, a vital ecosystem filled with surprising diversity. Nearly a hundred species of grasses, many of them native, grow in the park along with junipers, cliffroses, saltbush, sagebrush, and many colorful wildflowers. Wildlife abounds in the grassland, such as pronghorn, Gunnison's prairie dog, coyote, bobcat, foxes, western rattlesnake, prairie falcon, golden eagle, and many songbirds. Wildflowers abound throughout the growing season.

In the mid-19th Century, topographers of the American Army arrived in this area and returned to the Eastern United States with stories of a remarkable 'Painted Desert and its trees turned to stone.' Immediately, people began to arrive in the area, including farmers, ranchers, and tourists.

Don't Miss These Attractions

• Painted Desert: be sure to stop at one of the many overlooks along the north end of the park road. The vast landscape of the red part of the Painted Desert stretches out for many miles. For more of an adventure, hike or backpack into the trail-free Painted Desert Wilderness Area and discover the Black Forest of petrified logs, colorful badlands, and clues from the past. The blue part of the Painted Desert can be visited at Blue Mesa, featuring many petrified logs on stone pedestals, colorful badlands, and a mile-long trail.
• Archeological Sites: evocative petroglyphs can be seen at Newspaper Rock and Puerco Pueblo. The Pueblo itself is a silent witness to the past, evidence of the people who lived in this area more than 600 years ago. Located at the end of a trail near Long Logs, Agate House is a small pueblo built by prehistoric people, which was reconstructed in the 1930s. Built of petrified wood, it is a provocative site. People have lived in this region for approximately 10,000 years.
• Historic Sites: the Painted Desert Inn Museum is located at Kachina Point. Constructed in the 1920s, the building was rebuilt in the late 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In 1987 the Inn was designated a National Historic Landmark. A rehabilitation project at the inn is ongoing in 2005.
• Grassland: the natural environment of the park is shortgrass prairie, not desert. Hundreds of species of plants and animals can be found in Petrified Forest National Park. Ravens tend to be relatively aggressive as they have learned that people can be sources of food. Please do not harm or feed any of the animals and please leave any plants for others to enjoy.
• Petrified Logs: petrified logs can be seen in the backcountry at the north end of the park and along roads and trails at the south end of the park. From Blue Mesa south, the logs become more abundant and more colorful. The well-named Rainbow Forest. Trails that feature petrified wood include Crystal Forest, Long Logs, and Giant Logs Trails.
• Visitor Facilities: any visit to the park should include a stop at the Painted Desert Visitor Center at the north end to see the park film and/or the Rainbow Forest Museum, which features fossil exhibits. These facilities enhance your visit through orientation and information.

Did You Know?

• Petrified Forest is within the Painted Desert. They are not separate parks.
• There are 93,533 acres within park boundaries; a new boundary was recently authorized that may nearly doubled the park's size! Over 50,000 of those acres are designated as a protected Wilderness Area.
• The park is really two parks in one, including the ancient ecosystem now represented by fossils and the living ecosystem of the grassland.
• There are 10,000 years of human history in Petrified Forest National Park, represented by more than 700 archeological sites.
• Puerco Pueblo was built by the Ancestral Pueblo people, occupied between A.D. 1200 and 1400. Agate House was occupied about A.D. 1100-1150 and was built out of chunks of petrified wood. Both these sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Herbert David Lore built Painted Desert Inn by 1924. Using designs by NPS architect Lyle Bennett, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) reconstructed the Painted Desert Inn from 1936 to 1940. It is a National Historic Landmark.
• Petrified Forest National Park is the only national park site that includes a portion of historic Route 66.
• The Chinle Formation of Late Triassic Period (about 225 million years ago) is the main geological formation of the park. The Bidahochi Formation outcrops, at the north end of the park, were laid down during the Miocene and Pliocene of the Quaternary Period, about 3-8 million years ago. The missing layers between the Bidahochi and the Chinle Formations represent about 200 million years, the contact called an uncomformity.
• The brilliant colors in the petrified logs come mainly from three minerals: pure quartz is white, manganese oxides form blue, purple, black, and brown, and iron oxides provide hues from yellow through red to brown.
• Petrified wood is found in every state and in many countries, so why was this place made a national park? It was originally established to protect some of the largest and most beautifully preserved concentrations of petrified wood in the world. We also now know that few places in the world have a fossil record of the Triassic Period that is so diverse and complete.
• Annual visitation to Petrified Forest National Park is approximately 600,000 visitors.
• Each year tons of petrified wood are removed illegally from Petrified Forest National Park. It is a major management concern -- and a criminal offense!

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PRIORITIES

Resource Theft: Everything in a national park is referred to as resources, including the plants, animals, geological formations, archaeological artifacts, and even the air. Resource theft is a continuing problem for the park. Each year several tons of petrified wood is stolen. Many areas have been stripped clean of small, easily removed pieces. Visitors also pilfer other minerals and cultural artifacts (pottery shards, arrowheads) from park sites.

Park staff work very hard to slow the theft of resources through strict enforcement of park regulations via fines or arrest. Staff also educates the visiting public about the significance of the environment and the irreplaceable information it contains. Park publications, displays and exhibits are designed to increase visitor awareness of these resources, leading to a stewardship ethic and desire to protect Petrified Forest National Park for these and future generations.

Environmental Concerns: A functioning shortgrass prairie environment covers a large portion of the park. The park acts as a sanctuary for many reptile and amphibian species, including the milk snake. There are some species of lichen that have been found only inside the park. Although most of the park’s flora and fauna are not listed as endangered or threatened at this time, the entire shortgrass prairie ecosystem is steadily disappearing from the American landscape.

The rapid spread of nonnative species like tamarisk and Russian thistle is becoming a significant problem in the park. Without natural enemies, they often out-compete and displace native species. Most invasive species have been introduced by human activity.

Research: surveys and research are ongoing. As studies are completed the information is made available to the public.

• Recent trace fossil finds include bee burrows in some petrified logs, termite nests, and crayfish burrows.
• An aetosaur, Stagonolepis wellesi, was discovered and excavated in 2002. Paleontological surveys continue throughout the park with more possible excavations in the future.
• Archeological site surveys and documentation are ongoing with site identification and monitoring as the current focus.
• Petrified wood theft studies continue to document loss and research prevention and protection methods. Current research tests the success of educational and psychological deterrent techniques.
• Research on botany, small mammals and reptile/amphibian surveys has continued. Results may influence future resource management practices.
• Park staff, in cooperation with other agencies, monitors air quality in the region.

Source: National Park Service