Petrified Wood

fossils · geology · ancient plants

Trees become stone. When trees fall and get buried, minerals from water seep into the wood and slowly replace the original material, turning it into rock. This process takes millions of years.

Minerals fill every detail. The minerals copy the exact structure of the tree's cells, so a piece of petrified wood keeps the rings, grain, and even tiny cell patterns from when it was alive.

Different from other fossils. Most plant fossils are just flat imprints or squished copies left behind, but petrified wood is a solid 3D object you can hold and study from all sides.

Common minerals involved. Water carries minerals like quartz and silica that fill in the wood, turning it into beautiful crystals that can be colorful and sparkly.