View Other Entries

  • Title: Petrified Wood Shop
  • By: William Turnbaugh
  • Location: Holbrook, AZ
  • View Full Size

The rainbow-colored, 200 million-year-old stone tree trunks that litter Petrified Forest National Park and the surrounding area have fascinated generations of visitors. Of course, snatching samples of the beautiful fossils is strictly forbidden. But tourists can readily find all the petrified wood they could want at commercial shops both inside and outside the park boundaries. These establishments obtain quantities of the material from deposits on private lands. They can supply rough chunks for landscaping or decorating, as well as beautifully cut and polished jewelry and souvenir items of smaller scale. We found this “lumber yard” just south of Holbrook, Arizona, in 2010. It had acres of natural specimens outside and a shop with more varied offerings inside.