Petrified Forest

NATIONAL MONUMENT • ARIZONA

PETRIFIED WOOD MAY NOT BE REMOVED FROM THE MONUMENT "so that future generations might enjoy its agate. Cavities in the logs were often filled or and minerals; charts explaining the formation Administration beauties, and study one of the most curious lined with quartz crystals. of the petrified forests and the badlands; and a Petrified Forest National Monument is results of nature's forces." How the Forest Was Brought to Light. diorama. Other exhibits may be seen at the administered by the National Park Service of Following an investigation by Lester F. Ward, Since the forest was buried there have been Painted Desert Museum, which is open during the United States Department of the Interior. Petrified Forest of the United States Geological Survey, Petri­ several periods of great mountain making. the summer. A superintendent, whose address is Holbrook, fied Forest National Monument was established Forces from deep in the earth thrust the During the summer, short talks are given Ariz., is in immediate charge. by Presidential proclamation on December Rockies and Sierras upward several thousand periodically in the Rainbow Forest Museum; NATIONAL MONUMENT 8, 1906, under authority of the Act for the Pres­ feet, and the land between was lifted far above and, as circumstances permit, guided tours ervation of American Antiquities. its former position near sea level. As a result of through the Rainbow Forest are conducted by Self-guiding Tour this great mountain growth, certain areas be­ park ranger naturalists. From U. S. 66—Read down came arid and desertlike; soon wind and rain All of these services are free of charge. The National Park System, of which this area is a unit, is dedicated to From U. S. 260—Read up The Geologic Story started wearing down the great deposits that conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States covered this region. Large river systems carried Painted Desert Kim Drive. Take road from for the benefit and enjoyment of its people. The Forests. About 160 million years ago, in away the loose mud, sand, and gravel which Travel Information U. S. 66 to rim. Distance back to U. S. 66, via Triassic time, northern Arizona was probably a finally found its way to the sea. Thus the sedi­ rim, about 4 miles. Beautiful view of Painted lowland where shifting streams spread sand and ments that once covered the forest were re­ Excellent paved approach roads make Petri­ Desert. Museum of Indian Arts and Crafts in mud over the plains. Scientists believe that the moved. Finally the layers in which the logs fied Forest National Monument easily acces­ basement of Painted Desert Inn. PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL MONUMENT has were chipped into arrowheads, knives, and growing forests were upstream, possibly as were buried were cut by canyons and ravines, sible by car, and it can be visited throughout Painted Desert. Erosion cutting across the the greatest and most colorful concentration of scrapers. Many petroglyphs (pictures carved much as a hundred miles west and southwest of revealing the great petrified logs and the many the year. U. S. 66, crossing the area near the many colored beds of shale and sandstone petrified wood known in the world. In the into the surface of the rock) are found on the the present petrified forests. The principal tree bands of colored rock that make up the Painted Painted Desert, is the approach from the east. produced the "Painted Desert." monument are six separate "forests" where sandstone rocks throughout the area. resembled our native pines, but was more closely Desert. As the logs wash from the hillsides, Travelers from the southeast, south, and west Puerco River Ranger Station. To enter giant logs of agatized wood lie prostrate, sur­ related to the Araucarian pines of South Amer­ they break and accumulate in piles at the base enter from U. S. 260. The monument road con­ monument, secure automobile or motorcycle ica and Australia. Remains of two other kinds of the cliffs. Only a small portion of the petri­ rounded by numerous broken sections and History nects these two main highways and leads permit. Visit Puerco Indian Ruin back of ranger smaller chips and fragments. of primitive trees are also occasionally found. fied forests is now exposed, for logs are scattered through the more interesting parts of the area. station. Ruin indicates 150 to 160 rooms. Built The area, containing 85,304 acres of Federal Apparently the first man to report the "stone The Trees Were Buried. Natural processes, below the surface of the ground to a depth of This road through the monument is closed to 800 to 900 years ago. To leave monument, get lands, is a part of the Painted Desert of trees" was Lieutenant Sitgreaves, an Army of­ sometimes hastened by destructive fires and about 300 feet. through travel at night. clearance. northern Arizona, a region of banded rocks of ficer who explored parts of northern Arizona in ravages of insects, are believed to have killed Broken Log Sections. Rhythmic vibrations Travelers by rail must obtain privately oper­ Newspaper Rock. Side road 14 mile. Fine many hues carved by wind and rain into a fan­ 1851, soon after Arizona was acquired by the the trees. Certainly, many of them decayed on of earthquakes during the period of uplift of the ated cars in Gallup, N. Mex., and Holbrook trail—12 to 15 minutes. Remarkable prehistoric tastic landscape. Here and there beds of shale United States. the ground, but others fell into streams and land are believed to have produced fine cracks and Winslow, Ariz., for tours through the Indian "writings" (petroglyphs) probably 800 contain perfectly preserved fossil leaves of The petrified forests remained largely un­ came to rest in bays or on sand bars where at more or less regular intervals across the petri­ Formations in the Third Forest. monument as no scheduled tours are available. to 900 years old. Made by chipping through plants of a remote age. Occasionally the bones known, however, until the settlement of north­ rapid burial by mud and sand prevented their fied logs. As erosion of the softer material outer dark sandstone surface with sharp tool, of giant reptiles and amphibians are washed ern Arizona began in 1878 and the Atlantic and decay. The deposits in which these trees were around the logs took place at the surface of the probably of petrified wood. The many interest­ from their burial places in the deposits. Pacific, now the Santa Fe, Railway was com­ buried eventually turned to the sandstones and land, the exposed cracks widened, separating the Accommodations and Supplies ing figures, symbolic designs, and characters pleted across northern Arizona in 1883. During shales now called the Chinle formation. These logs into sections. many shades of red, orange, maroon, blue, periods between rains. Locally, a hard sandstone have never been interpreted. Please do not Prehistoric Indians Lived the following years, the existence of the petri­ were buried at least 3,000 feet beneath later The Painted Desert. The badlands of the purple, and yellow by iron minerals that also caprock may prevent rapid erosion of the shales At the Rainbow Forest, a small picnic deface them. fied forests was threatened by souvenir hunters, layers of sand and silt spread by shallow seas. Petrified Forest areas and the Painted Desert get in Petrified Forest came from volcanic ash. beneath to form an abrupt-sided, table-topped ground, equipped with table, shade, and water Lt^erBlue Forest Drive. Fine side road— gem collectors, commercial jewelers, and abra­ The Logs Petrified. The sediments in their color from the ancient volcanic deposits Bentonitic beds in arid or semiarid regions butte or mesa. The resistant capping of the rim supply, is available for free use in daytime only. V2 mi el tc7 ngTRThig area. Typical badlands The ruins of pueblos built by Indians in pre- sive manufacturers. Entire logs were blasted to which the logs were buried contained a large of that region, and the surface forms are typical erode into badlands. The bentonite absorbs of the Painted Desert is composed of ancient There are no camping facilities. exp >sr res./ if)] /""""""N Columbian times, from 800 to 1,400 years ago, obtain the quartz and amethyst crystals often amount of volcanic ash, rich in silica. This of desert erosion. water like a sponge, swells, and disintegrates volcanic rock. The nearest towns having cabin, hotel, store, E luf Fortsst Connecting f\atl. Gravel are scattered on nearly every mesa throughout found within the logs, and much agate was car­ silica was picked up by ground water, carried The material from which the badlands were into a fine mud. As a result, the torrential sum­ and garage facilities are Holbrook, Ariz., 20 trai —lyrniltt long—50/to/60 rr/inutas. Leads to the monument. Low mounds, strewn with ried away for making jewelry. The erection of a into the wood, and deposited in the cell tissue. sculptured originally was deposited layer upon mer rains that fall in northern Arizona rapidly miles west; Gallup, N. Mex., 92 miles east; and Up 9n^lue^oresti>arkinfjArei, vtfhere driver The mineral filled the wood solidly, forming layer as volcanic ash. The decomposition of the blocks of sandstone and bits of broken pottery, stamp mill near the forests to crush the petrified cut the banded, bentonitic beds into sharp, Interpretive Service St. Johns, Ariz., 42 miles southeast. Distances can meet anyone walfc+ag Jcrcyss^ail. Logs on mark the sites of these ancient homes. Some of logs into abrasives offered the most serious the present petrified log. However, part of the ash which released silica for petrification con­ conical hills, turreted ridges, and sharp, inter- are from monument headquarters. 3 levels. The only forest with pink logs. original organic matter remains. The color the dwellings, such as the Agate House in the threat. Alarmed, the citizens of Arizona, verted the ash into claylike rock, called ben- branching canyons and ravines. When dry, the You are invited to see the Rainbow Forest Meals, gasoline, and souvenirs only may be Remarkable "chip" piles. patterns were caused by oxides of iron and Third Forest, were built of blocks of petrified through their territorial legislature, petitioned tonite. When pure, the bentonite is nearly bentonite is hard and strong, thus preserving Museum. Its exhibits include many outstanding obtained at the Painted Desert Inn and at the Upper Blue Forest Drive. Good graveled manganese, the predominant type known as wood, and smaller fragments of this material Congress to make the area a national reserve white, but in the Painted Desert it is stained these intricate badlands forms during the long examples of polished petrified wood, fossils, Rainbow Forest Lodge. road—3 miles to parking area. Fine panoramic Please help to maintain and protect Petrified Forest National Monument by re­ fraining from destroying or removing specimens of petrified wood (no matter how PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL MONUMENT ARIZONA small the piece) or defacing or marking ruins, pictographs, petroglyphs, or other works of prehistoric man. If each of the hundreds of thousands of yearly visitors took pieces of petrified wood, there would soon be none left. Once removed, it is gone forever—it cannot be replaced. Petrified Forest Your cooperation in observing the above will make it unnecessary to impose penalties of fines or imprisonment, or both, as provided for under the laws of the United States Gov­ ernment for the protection of Petrified Forest National Monument. You may purchase petrified wood from the monument concessioner, who gets his supply NATIONAL MONUMENT • ARIZONA from dealers handling wood obtained from private lands outside of the monument.

The following items, which through their observance will tend to make your trip and that of your neighbors more enjoyable, are listed for your guidance:

The monument is a sanctuary for all living Please observe posted speed limits, drive with things. Please do not molest the birds or caution, and heed all traffic signs. animals or pick wildflowers. Lost and found articles should be reported to Pets may be brought into the monument only the nearest ranger station. on leash, crated, or otherwise under physical There is an annual fee of $1, and a 15-day fee restrictive control. of 50 cents, for each automobile and motorcycle. Picnicking is permitted at the headquarters Permits must be shown to leave or reenter the picnic area only. monument. During the valid period of all Agate Bridge. Unless adequately sealed, cased, broken 15-day permits, the cost thereof may be applied down, or otherwise packed to prevent their use toward the purchase of a similar annual permit. view of Blue Forest badlands and Puerco River some 150 to 160 feet. Panorama Knoll gives while in the monument, firearms are prohibited All fees are deposited in the United States Valley. Conglomerate capped mesa. Head of good view. Agate House side trail to prehistoric except upon written permission from the Treasury and offset, in part, appropriations Blue Forest Connecting Trail. Indian dwelling partially restored; built of superintendent. made for operating the monument. Agate Bridge Trail. 5 to 10 minutes. Petri­ petrified wood 800 to 900 years ago. Professional photographers using motion pic­ The monument road berween the Rainbow fied log, 111 feet long, forms natural bridge; Rainbow Forest. Start from museum on all- ture cameras must obtain a permit from the Forest and the Painted Desert is closed to span about 40 feet. Erosion of sandstone by rain paved trail—15 to 20 minutes. Logs show beau­ superintendent. through travel at night. water produced this bridge. Pedestal Log a short tiful bands of color. Old Faithful, one of the All accidents should be reported to the near­ distance south. largest logs, at top of trail. Mather Memorial on est ranger station. First Forest. Fine side road—8 to 10 min­ side trail. utes. Highly colored, broken logs very abun­ Rainbow Forest Museum. Charts and ex­ Park rangers are here to assist you as well as to protect the monument area. dant, eroding from conglomerate bed that caps hibits tell the complete story of the Petrified If you need information, or are in any difficulty, see a park ranger. mesa. Forest. They include beautiful polished sections Second Forest. Good trail—20 to 25 min­ of agatized wood, fossil reptiles, and amphibian utes. Peculiar white, silicified logs; logs are fire skulls, bones, and teeth. PETRIFIED WOOD MAY NOT BE REMOVED FROM THE MONUMENT scarred; carbonized material present. Hollow U. S. 260 Ranger Station. To enter monu­ UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR logs show crystals in place. ment, secure automobile or motorcycle permit. Douglas McKay, Secretary COVER: Petrified Logs in the Rainbow Forest. Third Forest and Agate House. Paved Drive carefully. To leave monument, get NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, Conrad L. Wirth, Director trail—25 ro 40 minutes. Finest long log area- clearance and information on roads. REVISED 1955 U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1955 0"F—330244