What is Petrified Wood?
Petrified wood is a type of fossil. Specifically, it is a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation.
Petrified wood forms when plant material is buried quickly and deeply enough beneath sediment or volcanic ash that it finds itself protected from oxygen and insects that might otherwise destory it. Without oxygen, the plant's decay slows to the point that it takes centuries to decay.
If water rich in minerals from the ash or sediment flows through the oxygen free environment, it may slowly replace the original plant material, depositing the minerals in the plant's cells. As the plant's lignin and cellulose decays, a stone mold forms in its place. The minerals are mostly silica, such as quartz, but might also include pyrite, calcite, opal, or other minerals. The result is a three dimensional representation, in mineral, of the original plant material. This is unlike other types of fossils which are typially impressions of plant and animal materials.
Trace elements including iron, manganese, copper, carbon, chromium, cobalt and others in the water add color to the forming petrified wood - giving rise to blacks, greens, blues, reds, browns, yellows, whites, pinks, oranges, blacks and other hues in the fossil. Sometimes the petrified wood can be brilliantly colored, and multi-hued, creating spectacularly beautiful fossils.
While petrified wood is often collected as a specimen, it is just as highly prized for use in design by interior designers, architects and landscape architects. Merging an organic shape and texture with the physical properties of stone and quartz, it is often used as a display show piece, sculpture, or furniture. It is suitable for use inside, on patios, or in landscape designing.
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