We have several good-size bits of petrified wood in our yard in southern Oregon. I did some research, and these specimens are likely between 20 and 35 million years old, dating back to the late Oligocene to the early Miocene period. During that period, volcanic activity literally covered some Oregon forests in ash, and that combined with mudflows and silica rich groundwater slowly replaced the log’s organic structure molecule-by-molecule - which preserved grain, growth rings and bark textures. Pretty 🆒 stuff. A study in ‘deep time’, they are…
#Geology #PetrifiedWood #PNW #oregon #Nature #NatureToot
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