This petrified wood building was made from local petrified trees found three miles northwest of Two Buttes Mountain, which is south of Lamar. At one time there was an ancient forest which turned to petrified wood, or stone. Most of it was removed to build this building.
The doorways and entryways are flanked by great trees nearly four feet in diameter, the largest single piece weighing 3200 pounds. The floors are also built of bits of wood, the oldest hardwood floor in the world.
Petrified wood is a fossil. It forms when plant material is buried by sediment and protected from decay by 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 material such as opal. The result is a fossil of the original woody material that often exhibits preserved details of the bark, wood and cellular structures.
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.
Petrified wood is not rare. It is found in volcanic deposits and sedimentary rocks at many of locations worldwide. It is sometimes found where volcanic activity covered plant material with ash, mudflows or pyroclastic debris. It is found where wood in sedimentary deposits was replaced by minerals precipitated from groundwater. It is especially abundant around coal seams, although many of the wood specimens in these locations are casts and molds rather than petrifications.
Elements such as manganese, iron, and copper in the water/mud during the petrification process give petrified wood a variety of color ranges. Pure quartz crystals are colorless, but when contaminants are added to the process the crystals take on a yellow, red, or another tint.
Following is a list of contaminating elements and related color hues:
- carbon – black
- cobalt – green/blue
- chromium – green/blue
- copper – green/blue
- iron oxides – red, brown, and yellow
- manganese – pink/orange
- manganese oxides – blackish/yellow
Petrified wood can preserve the original structure of the stem in all its detail, down to the microscopic level. Structures such as tree rings and the various tissues are often observed features.
Petrified wood is a fossil in which the organic remains have been replaced by minerals in the slow process of being replaced with stone. This petrification process generally results in a quartz chalcedony mineralization. Special rare conditions must be met in order for the fallen stem to be transformed into fossil wood or petrified wood. In general, the fallen plants get buried in an environment free of oxygen (anaerobic environment), which preserves the original plant structure and general appearance. The other conditions include a regular access to mineral rich water in contact with the tissues, replacing the organic plant structure with inorganic minerals. The end result is petrified wood, a plant, with its original basic structure in place, replaced by stone. Exotic minerals allow the red and green hues that can be seen in rarer specimens.
To Claim this earthcache send a message or email with the answer to the following questions.
1, Based on the coloring of the petrified wood, which contaminating elements were present?
2. How tall would you estimate the stump at the end of the wall that juts out to the north to be?
3. There is etched information in the wood/stone to the right of the double window. Describe the petrified wood/stone in this area.
4. OPTIONAL: Post a photo of you at the site.