Petrified trees. Fossilised remains of trees in the Petrified Forest National Park,Arizona,USA. Tall,pine-like trees covered parts of the flood plain that occupied this area in the late Triassic period (225 million years ago). Fallen trees were washed by swollen streams & covered in silt,mud & volcanic ash,which excluded oxygen & slowed their decay. In time,water containing silica minerals seeped through the logs & encased their woody structures in silica. This slow process evolved with the silica crystallising into quartz,and the logs were preserved as petrified wood. Geological uplifting & the more recent effects of wind & water have exposed the logs to the surface | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / Fraser, Simon |
Bildgröße: | 4961 px × 3714 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: | - |