RE: Stealing the Rocks

[AustinBoston]

 
Who s stealing the rocks?  Every year, several tons of rock disappears from the Petrified Forest National Park, even though helping yourself to them is a federal offense.  There are large quantities of the rocks for sale outside the park, but people steal them anyway.  Although the Park Rangers are not in the habit of searching people or cars for stolen rocks, people do get arrested for it every year.
 
 The reason people take the rocks is that they are petrified wood.  The rocks are trees (or, more correctly, were trees) that have been turned to stone.  Time, water, and probably some heat have gradually replaced the wood fibers with minerals.  The minerals take on the shape, texture, and even some of the color of the wood.  But the wood is all gone.
 
 The minerals come in a variety of colors, often in the same peice of wood, and can be polished to an almost mirror-like shine.  The primary minerals are silica-based, and most of that is quartz.  Less common is Agatized wood, where the primary mineral is Agate.
 
 Petrified wood can be found in all 50 states.  Despite this people come to Arizona, to this corner of the Painted Desert, to see the petrified wood.  The reason is simple.  Although lots of other places have petrified wood, none have entire petrified forests.  There are literally tens of thousands of whole logs that have been petrified.  Some are as big as four feet in diameter.  In one area, the logs were buried so fast that they are sill upright.  There are a few that have even formed bridges as the soft, clay-like deposits under them have eroded away.
 
 The petrified logs are not the only thing the Petrified Forest National Park has to offer.  Because it is located in the Painted Desert, there is a wide variety of colors in the ground.  Out there, they call it rock, but here in the Northeast, we would call anything that soft clay.  It erodes easily in the rain, and the various layers have distinct and often vivid colors.
 
 You may see an area that is mostly white, but with a single black stripe through it.  In other areas, there are lots of reds, yellows, and oranges.  Although the layers are arranged horizontally, there are washes and gullies that introduce some vertical and diagonal stripes.  Against all of this is an intensely blue desert sky.  Most of the year, it is virtually cloudless.
 
 There are parts of the park where the erosion is happening so fast that plants simply can not take root.  Of course, without the roots of grasses and desert sagebrush, there is nothing to stop the erosion.  This has resulted in a landscape more tortured than the Badlands of South Dakota.  In fact, these parts of the park are called badlands.  They would be worth visiting just for the many shapes of the rapidly eroding hills, but they are so full of color that the sight is like being on another planet.
 
 Even though it is a desert, there is an abundance of wildlife.  Pronghorn antelope hide out near cliffs or anywhere else they find shade.  Mule deer are less common, but can be seen from time to time.  Coyotes are often on the prowl, quick to grab the first unlucky jackrabbit or desert ground hog.  There are also birds.  Buzzards and crows can be seen in the air, and road runners are an occasional sight.
 
 For many thousands of years, American Indians have lived in and around what is now Petrified Forest National Park.  They have left many clues.  There are remains of their stone dwellings and other buildings.  There is evidence of encampments.  There are some of the most famous petroglyphs in the world.  And of course, when westerners first arrived, the Indians themselves could be found here.
 
 The Petrified Forest National Park isn t one that springs immediately to mind when people think of National Parks.  But the park has things to offer that you won t find anywhere else in the world.
 
 One more thing - every year, hundreds of pounds of rock gets returned to the park by people with gulty conciences.
 
 Austin (who bought his rocks at a roadside stand)

[Acts 2:38 girl]

 AustinBoston

Austin (who bought his rocks at a roadside stand

Hmmm... maybe it s those pesky roadside dealers!  []  Somehow I doubt it, but you never can tell!

[AustinBoston]

 Acts 2:38 girl

ORIGINAL:  Acts 2:38 girl
 

Austin (who bought his rocks at a roadside stand

Hmmm... maybe it s those pesky roadside dealers!  []  Somehow I doubt it, but you never can tell!
 

 There are large parts of the Petrified Forest that are not on park property.  For landowners, it s like a natural resource that they are largely allowed to control.  Most of the biggest and most complete logs are protected, but I have seen coffee tables made from petrified logs.
 
 Austin (can you say HEAVY?)

[wiininkwe]

 AustinBoston
Thanks Austin, as always, well written and full of fun info.  You know that I always appreciate these neat things that you post for us.
 T
 []

[tlhdoc]

 AustinBoston
I was there back in 1987.  It is really a cool place.

[Opie431]

 AustinBoston
I visited Petrified Rocks in Arizona but it was a short drop in, look around and leave visit.  In Utah where we spend more time camping there is National Forest land in various places thruout the state, where you can stop and pick up petrified rocks honestly.  There is a limit on how much you can take but I do not know how what it is anymore.