Millions of years ago, eastern Arizona looked completely different: coniferous forests rose on the site of deserts, relict ginkgoes and cycads looked green, similar to thick palms.
But epochs have passed. There is no longer the supercontinent Pangea, we judge about dinosaurs and ice ages only by their tracks. Something remains from the ancient American thickets. And these creations of time are simply amazing!
About 220 million years ago, Arizona had numerous rivers and lakes that fed native vegetation. The water contained various metals and minerals. Magnesium, chromium, silicon dioxide and other elements fell to the surface of the earth during the eruptions of a chain of volcanoes, which was located west of modern Petrified Forest.
When trees fell under the onslaught of storms or insects, they rolled into rivers and settled at the bottom. The trunks that ended up under a layer of soil were not subjected to the decay process. For thousands of years they lay at a depth, passing water with minerals dissolved in it through their fibers and pores. As a result, these minerals accumulated in the wood and replaced its organic matter, which was gradually destroyed.
The intercellular space of trunks, branches and leaves was filled with crystals of quartz and its varieties: amethysts, opals, citrines and chalcedony. Among the fossils there are even needles and fern spores.
The treasures of the prehistoric forest were brought to the surface by the rise of the Colorado Plateau about 60 million years ago. The first fossilized wood remains were found by the tribes of the Indians, and in the 1870s they learned about them in Europe and began to be used for the manufacture of decorative accessories.
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In 1935, Ilf and Petrov visited the stone forest. Soviet writers were delighted with the semi-precious trees, which retained all their lines and veins, which now sparkled with different colors. According to them, neither marble nor malachite could be compared with polished petrified wood.
In 1962, this area of Arizona received national park status. Today 600 square kilometers of the area are strictly protected areas. Ancient fossils are interesting not only for tourists, but also for paleobiologists. The fossils contain imprints of the ancient climate, structures of early trees and insects that lived in them.
In addition to the Arizona desert, gem trees are found in Egypt, Argentina, North Dakota and Georgia.