Our drive through Arizona took us through the Petrified Forest National Park. These 200 million years + old pieces of trees have been “petrified” due to having been uprooted, perhaps by a flood, and then covered in silt and volcanic ash. As water crept through the wood, decaying organic material was replaced with multicolored silica – which we can see today.
The Petrified Forest is also home to part of the Painted Desert, called such because of the way the various types of rock have settled over time to form multi-colored bands.
Our 21st Century Odyssey 