Archive for January 23rd, 2010

Beware of the “hardened heart”

Byline 4:00 PM Friday

There are six great “forests” in the 94, 189-square-mile region known as the Petrified Forest National Park of Northern Arizona. Virtually unknown until the late 1870′s, the 135-million-year-old “stone trees” had been killed by natural processes and deeply buried in mud and sand that contained silica-rich volcanic ash. The logs became petrified as the mineral, carried into the wood by ground water, eventually replaced the wood cells. As the surrounding material eroded away, and the petrified logs ...

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