What is petrification?
The process of petrification starts with three raw ingredients: wood, water and mud. Petrification of the wood found in the Petrified Forest began during the Triassic Period when the primitive conifers fell to the ground and into the waterways, entering into their journey through time. The logs were swept and tumbled downstream with sediment and other debris. The streams traveled through a plain of lakes and swamps where the wood, sediment and debris were deposited along the way. Four hundred feet of sediment was deposited in the plain by the rivers that originated from the Mogollon Highland volcanic mountain range. That layer of sediment is known today as the Chinle Formation. As the logs were deposited in the plain they were buried with mud and debris, beginning the petrification process. The mud that covered the logs contained volcanic ash, a key ingredient in the petrification process. When the volcanic ash began to decompose it released chemicals into the water and mud. As the wat
