Desert Messenger

14 www.DesertMessenger.com July 16, 2014 Got Drugs? Turn in your unused or expired medication for safe disposal Mon - Fri. 8am-5pm Quartzsite Police Department DEADLINE : WED. JU LY 30 for AUG. 6 TH edition Desert Messenger Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com While on the road recently, we traveled through Winslow and Holbrook, AZ, home of the world famous "Rainbow" petrifi ed wood like that preserved in Petrifi ed Forest National Park located just east of Holbrook. While traveling through the vast expanse of desert, it is diffi cult to imagine a landscape cov- ered with dense forest. But in reality, around 250 million years ago, the desert southwest was a full of trees- mostly conifers and palm trees. The environment was similar to a mod- ern tropical environment, and it was because of that tropical, forested en- vironment that Arizona has its state fossil. Petrifi ed wood was designated the state fossil of Arizona in 1988. Yes, petrifi ed wood is a fossil. It is wood that has been changed to stone through processes known as permin- eralization and replacement. Two specifi c conditions must exist in order for a fallen tree to turn into petrifi ed wood. First, the fallen tree or limb must get buried in an environment devoid of oxygen, like mud or heavy sediments. In an anaerobic environ- ment, the organic matter will not de- compose. The second condition is that there must be mineral-rich water fl owing through the sediments and the wood. Permineralization occurs as minerals fl ow into the original tissues of the wood and replace the organic matter molecule by molecule. Empty spaces in cells are fi lled with crystals. The original shape and structure of the wood is retained, though all or- Digging for Rainbows By Jenn Jedidiah Free for RocksInMyHead™ ganic matter has been replaced by min- erals. This process can take anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years. Petrifi ed wood is found throughout the world. Here in Arizona, the area around Petrifi ed Forest National Park is the most well known location for petrifi ed wood. Re- ferred to as "Rain- bow", the famous specimens from this area are clearly some of the most beautiful petrifi ed wood in the world. The fi nal com- position of petrifi ed wood will depend on what minerals are present when it is forming. Typical- ly it is some form of quartz or chalcedo- ny with various other minerals found in trace amounts. In the Holbrook area, a silica solution produces specimens with varieties of quartz such as agate, jasper, and sometimes opal, or even pockets of clear quartz crystals or purple amethyst. The colors in petrifi ed wood are the re- sult of the trace minerals in the solution. Copper, cobalt, or chromium produce a green or blue color for example. Iron oxides create reds, browns, and yellows. Manganese produces pink and orange, while blackish/yellow comes from man- ganese oxides. Black is the result of an abundance of carbon, and white is cre- ated by an excess of silica. While collecting specimens of petrifi ed wood is illegal in Petrifi ed Forest Na- tional Park, there are several locations in the Winslow and Holbrook area east of the park where collecting is open to the public. One area that we visited was located just south of Winslow. To get to it, take highway 87 south for ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS about a mile and then turn on Hwy 99. Head east and then south about 6 miles until you arrive at a gravel road heading east to Holbrook. Turn onto that road and travel east about a half mile up the road. At that point, for the next 20 miles or so there are many opportunities for collecting some nice specimens of petrifi ed wood and nicely colored jaspers. There are some scenic buttes and nice parking areas along the road, but be care- ful not to venture too far off the road as some of the land is privately owned. We spent the entire day collecting along the side of the road for several miles. Another area that produced beautiful specimens for us was near Holbrook. Head south on Hwy 77 for about 6 ½ miles to an intersection with a road that goes to Woodruff. About 4 miles down that road, there will be ample oppor- tunities for collecting. The collecting area stretches some 20 miles south of Holbrook along the road to Woodruff and along Silver Creek. Our collect- ing adventure here rewarded us with some gorgeous red, yellow, and white specimens and even some with purples. Many of the pieces found here are small- er, and will make for great tumbling or shaping into cabs without much waste, though we did fi nd some larger ones and a few with "bark" on them. While in the area, don't forget to visit Petri- fi ed Forest National Park. The multicolored buttes and hills of the Painted Desert are amazing, and there are several hikes that allow a person to explore the beauty of this amazing landscape up close. Visit our blog for maps, photos, and more information about the Winslow and Homer collecting ar- eas, links to Petrifi ed Forest National Park, and more. Access our blog "Adventures With Rocks" through the Media Link on the top tool bar of our website www.RocksInMyHead. biz. We have rainbow petrifi ed wood for sale, as well as books, maps, tools, supplies and more. We are open in Kingman at the His- toric Route 66 Swapmeet and in Williams at the Kiwanis Outdoor Market throughout the summer. We will be open in Quartzsite in the beginning of November at A37 in Rice Ranch, but meanwhile call 605-376-8754, or email Jenn@RocksInMyHead.biz. Have a great summer and we'll see ya in the fall!

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