The one natural feature most people come to see at
Petrified Forest is the remains of trees, now over 225
million years old, that were turned to stone (right and
below). But the scenery surrounding these trees is
equally as interesting since it has been shaped by
millions of years of deposition, uplift, and erosion.
Petrified Forest is situated near the southern edge of
the Colorado Plateau with elevations ranging from 5300
feet to 6235 feet. It was the uplift of the Colorado
Plateau and the subsequent erosion that carved the
present landscape. (Information with acknowledgement to
the US National Parks Service)
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Contrasting scenery in the main area of the Petrified
Forest (previous page) and the coloured strata of the
Painted Desert situated in the northern part of the
Forest park.
'Exposed in large sections of the park are hills of
colorful mudstones and clays of the Painted Desert.
These hills, also known as 'badlands', are composed of
bentonite, a layered mudstone that is rich in altered
volcanic ash. The clay minerals in the bentonite can
absorb water to as much as seven times their dry
volume. This property of the clay causes rapid erosion
and prevents most vegetation from growing on the slope
of the hills.
Other prominent features also created by erosion are
mesas and buttes. Both have flat tops of more
erosion-resistant sandstone over softer clays. The
difference between them are that mesas are quite broad
but not very tall while buttes are taller and
narrower.' (Information and text with acknowledgement
to the US National Parks Service)
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