What is Arizona Petrified Wood?

Arizona petrified wood is fossilized plant material that originates in the Chinle Formation in the desert badlands of Northern Arizona and adjacent portions of New Mexico. The fossil is typically primarily quartz.

It's also known as Rainbow Wood because of the large variety of beautiful colors in some samples. The wood may have shades including yellows, reds, purples, blues, whites, black and others. The colors derive from iron oxides, limonite, hematite and other materials in the fossil.

The original plant from which this type petrified wood formed is an extinct species of conifer known as Araucarioxylon arizonicum. These trees typically grew as tall 200 feet in height and larger than 2 feet in diameter. At the time the trees were alive, 250 to 200 million years ago dyuring a period known as the Triassic perion, Arizona was a flat tropical exanse in a corner of the super continent known as Pangaea.

The indians who lived in or near the area where the petrified wood is found had various beliefs about what it was. The Navajo indians believed the fossils to be the bones of a giant killed by their ancestors, while the Piute indians saw them as arrow shafts from the thunder god.

While petrified wood is often collected as a specimen for rock and mineral collections, it is just as highly prized for use in design by interior designers, architects and landscape architects. Merging the an organic shape and texture with the physical properties of quartz, it is often used as a display show piece or furniture inside, on patios, or in landscape designing. Arizona petrified wood in particular is a beautiful complement for a beautiful home.

Enjoy viewing our wide selection of spectacular Arizon petrified wood for sale.