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ProPeak Photography

Images of the World in Which We Live

All Portfolio > America's Best Idea > Petrified Forest National Park

Petrified Forest National Park

Images from Petrified Forest National Park - Arizona

Tiponi Panorama

The high desert of Arizona is very colorful under the right conditions. This is April in Petrified Forest National Park.

Painted Desert Inn

A Pueblo Revival Style building constructed by the Civilian Construction Corps builders during the Great Depression, the Painted Desert Inn now functions as a museum and bookstore, with magnificent views over the Painted Desert of Navajo County, Arizona and the northeastern segment of Petrified Forest National Park.

Tawa Point Overlook

A wider view of the Painted Desert for which the Inn is named, from an overlook point about 1/8th of a mile to the south. The spectacular imagery of the Painted Desert is worth the stop alone, but the Petrified Forest National Park offers so many diverse opportunities to impress its visitors.

Colorful Tepee

The Tepees are located roughly in the center of the Petrified Forest National Park, and represent some of the oldest formations found here, these formations were formed over 225 million years ago and are phenomenal examples of the Blue Mesa member of the Chinle Formation.

On the Road Again

The Tepees are located roughly in the center of the Petrified Forest National Park, and represent some of the oldest formations found here, these formations were formed over 225 million years ago and are phenomenal examples of the Blue Mesa member of the Chinle Formation.

Scary Scene?

Not really. The object in the foreground is agatized, or "petrified", wood. These chunks of petrified logs are strewn throughout the desert in cluster locations where there once stood a great rainforest hundreds of millions of years before. The colors of the agatized wood are vibrant, and so eye-catching against the pale blues and greens of the prairie grass and sky.

Don't Try to Cut It

The object in the foreground is agatized, or "petrified", wood.

These chunks of petrified logs are strewn throughout the desert in cluster locations where there once stood a great rainforest hundreds of millions of years before. The colors of the agatized wood are vibrant, and so eye-catching against the pale blues and greens of the prairie grass and sky.

Agate House Pueblo

Partially reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, this Agate House was an eight-room pueblo, built almost entirely of petrified wood, which stood from approximately 900 AD - 1200 AD. This two room reconstruction stands in Petrified Forest National Park, approximately a mile walk from the Rainbow Forest Museum near the Holbrook, Arizona entrance station on US 180.

Agate House Wall in Monochrome

Even without the amazing colors of the agatized wood used to build these structures, the textures of the petrified wood make this a pretty compelling black and white image, I think. Petrified Forest National Park, Holbrook, AZ.

Fascinating Agatized Wood

It is simply amazing to see these cross sections of now rock and immediately recognize that they were once trees. Apparently, cutting the agatized trees is even more difficult and time consuming than cutting marble.

Crystal Forest Close-up

One of the most accessible areas in Petrified Forest National Park to view the agatized wood is the aptly named Crystal Forest, home to a large deposit of petrified logs, such as these specimen.

Beginning of the Rainbow?

Legend has it that a pot of gold lies at the end of the rainbow ...but, what about the beginning?

Perhaps the rainbow emanates from one of the planet's true natural wonders...agatized (or petrified) wood. It's amazing to think that these rocks in an arid desert at over a mile in elevation were once trees in a lush forest that succumbed to an ocean. So, maybe it's not too difficult to believe that they would be at the beginning of the rainbow.

Seriously, go check them out for yourself in the Crystal Forest, located in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.

Painted Desert

This panorama is looking north toward the painted desert within Petrified Forest National Park. It's at the southern border of the 1932 addition to the originally designated National Park. It is simply amazing to see such geologic formations. To many it is hard to believe that this park rests over a mile in elevation above sea level.

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