To get to the coordinates you will have to leave the main road. There is a little dirt road that heads north just west of the "49 Rock". (There's a cache by that name nearby.) You don't have to go over a fence!! You don't have to have 4WD but be ready to negotiate your vehicle on the narrow road through the sagebrush which is reaching out to grab you from each side. To walk would be a fairly good hike but maybe you would like the exercise. Once you get to the designated coordinates you will find two chain link cages protecting the Petrified remains of Redwood Trees.
Think about what the history of these trees might be.
Petrifaction (commonly called Petrification) is the process by which organic material becomes petrified. This takes place when the original organic material is replaced by dissolved minerals in surrounding water. Petrifaction takes place by two similar processes, Permineralization and Replacement, creating replicas of the original specimen. In this case Redwood Trees.
Permineralization occurs when groundwater containing dissolved minerals fill the pours and open spaces of a specimen. The minerals draw together out of the water and fill the open spaces.
Two common types of Permineralization are Silicification and Pyritization.
Silicification most often occurs when the specimen is buried in sediments of delta-like floodplains of volcanic material and ash submerged in an aqueous silica solution. While water is important because it carries the minerals into the open spaces, it also keeps bacteria and fungi from destroying the organic matter long enough for the Petrifaction process to take on the shape of the organic material. Eventually most of the organic material is destroyed leaving hard minerals.
Pyritization is a similar process to silicification, but it involves the deposition of iron and sulfur (from sulfides) into the pours and open spaces of the specimen. This happens when the specimen is buried in sediments containing a high concentration of iron sulfides. The reaction between the iron and sulfide form pyrite which replaces the organic material. Replacement takes place when the dissolved minerals in the water actually dissolve the original solid organic matter of the organism. Those minerals then stand in the place and shape of the original specimen. This process results in a much more finely detailed replica of the original specimen. It is a rare thing to find organisms preserved by Replacement alone (without evidence of Permineralization).
To show you were here please use the message center to explain to me:
From your observations of the landscape around you, were these trees formed by Permineralization through Silification or Pyritization. Or do you think they were formed by Replacement.
What are the prominent geological features of the surrounding area that help you conclude this? Also find a stray piece of the petrified tree and feel its consistency. Is it hard, soft?
Describe the shape of the pieces and why do you think they are in that shape.
If you like, in your post on line give us a description of how you think these trees got here. We would be interested.