Whether it’s a short hike surrounded by Triassic-age petrified logs or setting up camp amongst the old pueblos under the stars, Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park is a link to the past like no other.
The first thing people always see upon entering this beautifully haunting expanse of protected land is the petrified logs, which have given the park its name. From the Triassic era, the striking tree remains have been preserved from 225 million years ago to 207 million years ago during the 20 million time span before the Jurassic era. The ancient leftovers found throughout layers of time are such a special piece of the earth’s history that researchers come from all around to study them.
Millions of years ago, the trees were buried in sentiment, cut off from oxygen and other agents of decay. This protected the logs from rotting. Over the course of a few thousand years, the mineral silica found its way into the cellular structure of the tree, a glassy mineral that turned the logs to stone. The trees that have made their way to the surface of the park are now permanent fixtures, the same now as they were in photos taken in the late 1800s.
Even though Public Information Officer Sarah Herve has led tours through the park many, many times, there are still a few log-covered areas in the park that continue to amaze her.
“I’m just in awe of how much wood there is. And how beautiful it is,” she said. “Thinking about deep time and when these trees were once alive is a fun exercise. But more than anything, I’m touched by the beauty of the wood. It’s so colorful. There are some areas where the ground is just carpeted with it and every piece is unique. It’s just this deep appreciation and being moved by their beauty. And knowing that it was preserved by nature to be this way and that it’s still here millions of years later… This is a process that goes on every day in our world.”
While these ancient reminders of the earth’s past are often stand-out pieces in the park since they’re situated in areas where visitors can walk through and see them first-hand in their natural environment, the logs actually aren’t the only fossils that have been found in the Petrified Forest.
Some fossils that stand out to Herve are the park’s collection of Phytosaur remains. This distant relative of crocodiles and alligators was a dominant predator at the time. Some skeletons found at the park indicate that they could get up to 30 feet long. Another crocodile ancestor that often crops up in Petrified Forest is the Aetosaur, which have teeth indicative of an herbivore or insectivore. The park is also home to other early ancestors, including the earliest turtles, frogs, and ancient giant salamanders.
Poet looks for inspiration while surveying preserved debris at Petrified Forest National Park. [Photo/NPS]
Archaeologists have also found bones from a dinosaur, Ceolophysis. It was a dog-sized dinosaur that is believed to have hunted in “packs, or well, flocks. They’re closely related to birds,” noted Herve. These are bones from the dinosaurs that later became T-Rex and other recognizable giant lizards.
“There’s always active research happening within the park and they’re finding new things all the time. Sometimes things brand new to science that no person has ever seen. That makes it really exciting,” said Herve.
Visitors who wish to learn more about the fossils that can’t be seen by taking the many hikes can head to the Rainbow Forest Museum. This museum tells the paleontological story of the forest, complete with skeletons on display and exhibits on research done at the park. Twenty-eight miles away at the northern end of the park is a fossil lab. This is where people can interact with paleontologists who are cleaning fossils.
Pueblos and Cave Paintings: A Different Kind of History
While petrified trees and dinosaur bones are definitely enough to attract 600,000 to 800,000 visitors a year, the Petrified Forest is also home to an archaeological record dating back 13,000 years. This includes pueblo dwellings, the remains of villages, and other human creations that give researchers an insight into how people lived thousands of years ago.
“One thing you find a lot of is pottery. You see its evolution and the techniques changing over time. It becomes more and more ornate,” Herve explained. “You go from greyware to detailed pottery with geometric shapes.”
The detailed pottery offers a lot of insight into the people that were once living on the preserved land amongst the petrified wood. They were thriving. With success, comes settling. The park is also home to remnants of ancient houses, stacked wood held together with mud. Another thing that led to their success in the area was their knowledge of farming.
“They had an understanding of the seasons. They would even create solar calendars that would indicate the summer solstice was coming. They were able to produce enough food to feed hundreds of people living in pueblos along the river. That shows a lot of endurance and understanding of your environment,” said Herve.
They’re so successful, in fact, that their descendants still live in the area.
Another interesting discovery in this area near Sun Valley, Arizona is the arrowheads made out of petrified wood. The resourceful ancestors were using the ancient trees to make knives and spearheads. Then there’s the petroglyphs, a written language defined by pictures carved on the side of rock faces. While the park is unsure what the stories truly mean, the animal and human forms blended with geometric shapes definitely have a message of some kind.
Visitors can walk to Puerco Pueblo near the middle of a park, which houses the remains of a pueblo village. Along the trail there’s petroglyphs, including the solstice markers. There’s also an archaeological museum at the park that tells visitors the timeline of the area’s ancient people. Touchable objects are inside the exhibit as well.
After 10 years working at the Petrified Forest, Herve is still passionate about telling the park’s story to visitors. People come from all over the world to support the park and witness its unique and ancient history. She also loves to show people the Painted Desert, home to huge unique and colorful rocks that can be seen from Route 66.
“Visitors that come here are just amazed and excited,” Herve gushed. “It’s flat out fun to be with them and talk to them about the place. I’m also a ranger. I do programs and help people make connections to this place. Connections specific to them. That is just incredibly rewarding work. I can’t say enough about that experience. People come from around the world, and they’ve never seen anything like this. They come out here and the views are just expansive and they can see colorful places they’ve never even thought existed. That sense of being with people while they are experiencing awe… There’s nothing like it. There’s just nothing like it.”
Oh, and dogs on a leash are more than allowed. They’re encouraged, with activities like Bark Ranger.
Check out nearby RV parks like Sun Valley RV Resort. Enjoy WiFi, laundry, and hanging with your pet just 18 minutes from the Petrified Forest National Park.