Petrified Nation Park Introduction
Petrified National park is the world’s largest colorful site to see the petrified woods which stretches for about 146 square miles across the multi hued badland of the archeological sites, its historic structure and its native grassland. The Park has derived its name from the Greek word ‘Petro’ meaning rock. The Petrified woods that we see today are the fossils of the terrestrial vegetation. Generally it takes fewer than 100 years for the woods to petrify therefore the forest where the woods have petrified is called the Petrified Forest.
Picture 1: Petrified Forest National Park
Source: www.usaxotours.com
Petrified National Park Location
Petrified Forest National Park is the United States national park located in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The headquarter of the park is around 26 miles east of the Holbrook along interstate 40 which runs parallel along the rail line of Puerco river.
Petrified National Park History
The Petrified National Park has a history of around 200 million old fossils. The site and the picture on the rocks tell us about the human history in that area. There were separate occupations from wandering families to settled farmers and the trade with their neighboring villages. However the stories faded in the 1400 AD. During the mid 1800’s the US army mappers located this area and were amazed by the vast petrified desert. The stories were carried across and the farmers, ranchers and the common people visited this area and the woods were taken as souvenirs. Later in 1906 a part of the forest was set aside as the Petrified Forest National Park. In 1932 it was extended, around 1000 hectares of the Painted Desert was purchases. In 1962, the entire area was named as the Petrified National Park.
The dry land we see as the Petrified Forest National Park today was initially a floodplain which was crossed by many streams. Later, due to flood the trees were washed away to the floodplains. They were covered by the volcanic ashes, mud and silt, cutting down the oxygen supply which delayed their decomposition. The ground water containing silica seeped through the logs and the original log tissue was encased with the silica deposits. The Petrified Logs that we see today are the crystallized silica which changed into mineral quartz.
Picture 2: Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Source: www.legendsofamerica.com
Petrified National Park Attractions
The Colorado plateau was located near the equator during the Triassic Period due to which the climate and the vegetation were very different from what we see today. The fossils of that period are exposed all over the Petrified Forest National Park. The trees of the Triassic period were uprooted and carried towards the lowland by the flood. Those trees were decomposed and petrified and became the beautiful petrified logs that we see across the Petrified National Park. Thought there are other places in the world where we find the petrified woods but the ones we see at the Petrified National Park are one of its kinds, the fossil record on the logs are of the Triassic period.
The Petrified National forest has a huge scientific value for its fossils of the Triassic period, its fragile grassland ecosystem, its human history and the various amazing animals that live in the park. There are cultural demonstration programs held which provides an opportunity for the regional people to share their history, culture and traditional crafts. The visitors are informed about the ancient people, intertribal relationship and the culture of the European descent people and the history of the Route 66.
The outdoor activities include hiking, sightseeing, walking trails, horse riding, wildlife and bird watching. Apart from all these, one can go for an adventure to explore the wilderness.
Picture 3: Petrified Tree
Source: www.planetware.com
Petrified National Park Camping
The Petrified National Park does not have a proper camping ground hence overnight camping is not allowed. However the backpack camping is allowed within the Petrified National Park wilderness but permits are not issued in advance, it has to be collected from the visitor’s centre during the park hours.
Petrified National Park Climate
The petrified National park is a high dry desert having variable weather throughout the year. Its temperature ranges between 90’s and lower 100’s during the summer. Summer nights range between 50’s and 60’s. Average winter temperature during the day ranges between 40’s to 50’s and 20’s or below during nights. Winter temperatures dip below 0 with occasional snow.
Picture 4: Map of Petrified Forest National Park
Source: cache.virtualtourist.com
Petrified National Park Operating Hours
Petrified National Park is open throughout the year except on Christmas.
The Park has different operating hours as it does not observe daylight saving. The operational hours for the year 2011 is as follows:
· 1st Jan – 26th Feb : 8am to 5pm
· 27th Feb – 7th May : 7am to 6pm
· 8th May – 3rd Sept : 7am to 7pm
· 4th Sept – 22nd Oct : 7am to 6pm
· 23rd Oct – 31st Dec : 8am to 5pm
Petrified National Park Fees
Private vehicle: $10 for 7 days
Single bicyclist, walk inn or motorcycle: $5 for 7 days
Annual pass: $20
US army veterans, US armed force and their families: free
There are few weekends which are fee free, for the year 2011, the fee free weekends are:
· Birthday of martin Luther King Jr.: 15th – 17th Jan
· National Park Week: 16th – 24th April
· First Day of summer: June 21st
· Public Lands day: 24th September
· Veterans day: 11th Nov
The Petrified National Park had been declared as the national monument in 1906 due to its immense geographic, scientific and historical value. It is one of the natural wonder which has been developing since the Triassic period. Apart from exploring the wilderness, one can go hiking, bird and wildlife watching, or just admire the vast colorful and multi hued badland of the Petrified National Park. It is definitely a surprising land to see the scenic wonder, fascinating archeological sites and the display of the fossils which are 200 million years old.
Contact Detail
Address
Petrified National Park,
PO Box 2217
Petrified Forest, Arizona 86028
Phone number: 928-524-6228
Fax: 928-524-3567
Website: http://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm
