Petrified Forest – Painted Desert NP
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Petrified Forest NP, located in northeastern Arizona, is 146 square miles with the Navajo Nation bordering it on the north & northeast
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The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils of fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic period, about 225 million years ago
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Paleontologists have been unearthing and studying the park’s fossils since the early 20th century
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Logs of petrified wood on the painted mounds of the Forest & Desert
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Gray & red colored bands across the landform are typical of most geologic features in as you travel the Petrified Forest & Painted Desert.
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Great view of the Badlands of the Petrified Forest & Painted Desert
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Sediments containing the fossil logs for which the park is named are part of the Chinle Formation
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About half of the park is designated as wilderness & wildlife includes pronghorns, coyotes, bobcats, black-tailed jackrabbits, prairie dogs & foxes
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View of the road ahead of us
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Colorful formations as we traveled through the Park
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Petrified Forest’s Logs
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Most logs in the park retained their original external form during petrification but lost their internal structure.
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The internal structure of one of the petrified logs
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At least nine species of fossil trees from the park have been identified; all are extinct
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The Painted Desert within the Petrified Forest is a desert of badlands extending from Grand Canyon NP into the Petrified Forest NP.
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The desert is composed of layers of easily erodible siltstone, mudstone, and shale of the Triassic Chinle Formation.
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Rock layers contain abundant iron and manganese compounds which provide the pigments for the various colors of the region
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Exposed to wind and water, the Chinle usually erodes into badlands made up of cliffs, gullies, mesas, buttes, and rounded hills.
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Wind, water and soil erosion continue to change the face of the landscape by shifting sediment and exposing layers of the Chinle Formation
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It consists of a variety of sedimentary rocks including beds of soft, fine-grained mudstone, siltstone, and claystone as well as harder sandstone & limestone
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Painted Desert Visitor’s Center
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Layers of silicic volcanic ash occur in the Chinle and provide the silica for the petrified logs of the area.
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Many parts of the region are only accessible by foot or unpaved road
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Richly colored desert along with its volcanic ash as you travel the road through the Painted Desert
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Their are many stops along the road providing spectacular views such as these
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A wonderful & beautiful blue sky brought out the colors of the desert even more.
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“The Painted Desert” – Land of many colors – Well Worth the Visit!!!