What is petrified wood? Well, it’s basically a fossil. Petrifaction is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having transitioned to stone by a mineralization process. It occurs when plant material is buried by sediment or volcanic ash and protected from decay due to oxygen and organisms. Then, groundwater rich in dissolved solids flows through the sediment, replacing the original plant material with silica, calcite, pyrite, or another inorganic (yet beautiful) material such as opal.
As a result, the original woody material turns into a fossil that often exhibits preserved details of the bark, wood, and cellular structures. Of course, that takes millions of years to happen.
Unlike other plant fossils, which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material. Some specimens of petrified wood are such accurate preservations that people do not realize they are fossils until they pick them up and are shocked by their weight. These specimens with near-perfect preservation are unusual; however, specimens that exhibit clearly recognizable bark and woody structures are very common.
The following photos are proof that petrified wood is one of the most beautiful things you can find in nature.
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Crystals inside petrified logs: Some petrified logs contain a spectacular surprise! Cavities within them served as crystallization locations for quartz crystals like the ones shown here. Images by Petrified Forest National Park. -
Tumbled petrified wood: small pieces of petrified wood that are free of pores and fractures are placed in a rock tumbler and tumbled with successively finer abrasives and finally with a rock polish.
Sources: National Park Service, Geology, Wikipedia