Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

The day before our last day on the trip, Caty called and suggested we get a National Park Passport stamp the next day. It took me a minute to realize why that would be cool. It was Leap Day! And, it was also NPS Centennial.

Fortunately, our last adventure did take us to a National Park. It was a quick trip to Petrified Forest National Park with hopes of getting some sunset photos. I have been three times in the past three years, so this wasn't an in-depth exploration, just a drive across the park's 26-mile road and a few side trips.

Petrified log

Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about 170 square miles of semi-desert, badlands and the Painted Desert.

Bright red cliffs

The primary feature is fossils of trees that lived in the Late Triassic Period, about 225 million years ago. During this period, the region that is now the park was near the equator on the southwestern edge of the supercontinent Pangaea, and its climate was humid and sub-tropical. It was a low plain flanked by mountains to the south and southeast and a sea to the west. Streams flowing across the plain from the highlands deposited inorganic sediment and organic matter, including trees, plants and animals that had entered or fallen into the water. The resulting fossil is richly colored, but still looks like a tree.

Fossilized wood

Although organic matter usually decays or is eaten by other organisms, it can remain intact and become fossilized if it is buried quickly, which is what happened in this area. In this case, much of the burying sediment was volcanic ash. Groundwater dissolved silica (silicon dioxide) from the ash and carried it into the logs, where it formed quartz crystals that gradually replaced the organic matter. 

Another close-up

Traces of iron oxide and other substances combined with the silica to create varied colors in the petrified wood. At least nine species of fossil trees from the park have been identified; all are extinct. 

This one has some gold

Increasing tourist and commercial interest in petrified wood during the late 19th century led to a series of protected designations culminating is establishment of the national park in 1962. Theft of petrified wood is still a problem, with theft of an estimated 12 short tons of fossil wood every year.

Less glossy

We stopped in one of the large stores selling petrified wood and fossils before we got to the park, so we assume there is a lot of the material outside the park, as well.

Photo: Jim Gray's (The antique car must be Jim's; it was there when I visited before)

The Painted Desert is part of the Chinle Formation, an up-to-800-foot-thick layer of soft fine-grained stone, harder sandstone and conglomerate, and limestone. 

Painted Desert

The Chinle's bentonite clay, which swells when wet and shrinks while drying, causes surface movement and cracking that discourages plant growth. Lack of plant cover makes the Chinle especially susceptible to weathering. It has eroded into badlands made up of cliffs, gullies, mesas, buttes and rounded hills.

Painted Desert

More than 600 archeological sites have been found in Petrified Forest National Park. The earliest inhabitants arrived at least 8,000 years ago. There are many petroglyphs in the Park, most between 650 and 2,000 years old.

Petroglyphs

This is "Newspaper Rock," which, according to the National Park Service, is neither a newspaper nor a single rock. The site has more than 650 petroglyphs covering a group of rockfaces within a small area that appear to have been added to by many people over many years. Many contributors over a long time don't create a linear story, so it is impossible to "read" the rockface. Still, native groups' interpretations include family or clan symbols, spiritual meanings, calendar events, territory boundaries and migratory routes.

Although we did get some good shots of the park, we ended up leaving before actual sunset. 

Colored rocks

The park road closes at 6:30, but I am not sure how long you can linger inside if you have entered before the gates close. We weren't really interested in testing the regulations.

Pretty horizon

And, we were treated to a magnificent sunset near Snowflake, Arizona. We were really struck by the interesting orange ring around the setting sun, better seen when you pull back from the picture.

Painted sky

Here's more Arizona naming trivia: I always thought that the town Snowflake was named for its location in the cool (for Arizona) mountains.  

What's in a name?

Nope! Actually, it was named for town founders, Mormon pioneers Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake. With names like that, how could they NOT name it Snowflake?

Trip date: February 22-29, 2016