Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park er en nationalpark i delstaten Arizona i USA. Parken blev etableret 9. december 1962, og er på 378 km². Den ligger i Chinle Formation og har en stor koncentration af 225 millioner år gammelt forstenet træ. Det omgivende område, Painted Desert (den malede ørken), har eroderet rødfarvede vulkansk klippe kaldet bentonit. Parken indeholder også kratstepper, farverige ørkenområder og golde eroderede bjergområder. Der er registreret over 600 arkæologiske fund efter tidlige bosætninger – de ældste muligvis over 8.000 år gamle.
Landskabet i parken ligger mellem 1.615 og 1.900 meter over havet, og er en del af Coloradoplateauet. Nationalparken krydses af Interstate 40 (Route 66), og den nordlige del strækker sig ind i Painted Desert. Petrified Forest-området blev udpeget som et National Monument 8. december 1906. Painted Desert blev lagt til på et senere tidspunkt. Den 9. december 1962 blev hele monumentet ændret til nationalpark. Parken er 48 km lang fra nord til syd, og varierer i bredde mellem 19 og 1,9 km. De længste etablerede stier i parken er 3,2 km lange.
Dyrelivet omfatter gaffelbuk, prærieulv, rødlos og Peromyscus maniculatus.
Forstenede træer, de fleste af den uddøde nåletræsslægt Araucarioxylon arizonicum. Fossiler af dyr og planter er for det meste fra yngre trias. Plantefossilene omfatter kongepalmer og gingko, mens dyrefossilene omfatter blandt andet phytosauria, padder og tidlige dinosaurer.
Tyveri af forstenet træ har været et problem for parken i alle år til trods for beskyttelse og at de nærliggende leverandører sælger forsteinet tre som er indsamlet lovligt fra de private områder af parken. Til trods for et vagthold med syv vagtårne med National Park Service Rangers, hegn, varselsignaler og truslen om en bøde på $325 bliver i gennemsnit 12 ton af fossilt tre alligevel stjålet fra nationalparken hvert år.
Links
Images Gallery
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Forstenet træ har givet navn til nationalparken; det er hovedsageligt af typen Araucarioxylon arizonicum
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Comments
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You want to see true beauty? Go here. We drove about 15 miles into the park and it was one exquisite sight after another. Be warned they do not take cash at the gate. You will need a card. Our fee was 25$. The price was well worth the experience and I’d pay it again in a heart beat.
a week ago -
What a fantastic national park to visit that is dog friendly. It is geared towards road touring as you drive from spot to spot and take short hikes to explore each area or viewing point. The roads were in great condition and generally most of the larger sites had restrooms available. It was really majestic place to visit to see all the petrified wood and the painted canyon. I highly recommend folks check it out. There isn't a lot of tree cover or shade so make sure to have sunscreen and have plenty of water.
a week ago -
We had a lot of fun here. They recently extended the hours of the park until 6:30 of you enter by 5. I would recommend more time that just an hour and a half though! Tons to see and do. Get the Navajo tacos at the visitor center before entering the park! They close at 4 so keep that in mind
a week ago -
Cool, unexpected pet friendly stop along I-40! You drive through the park and can pull over at all sorts of turn-outs and viewpoints. There isn't much hiking or walking involved, but you get to see a varied landscape of different rocks!
3 days ago -
Very light traffic, not many visitors. Just seeing all the petrified trees peaks your interest to learn more about them and what the area was like 200 million plus years ago. Amazing.
a week ago -
This is great drive-through park. You could do hikes but we just made multiple stops at the scenic overlooks and spent about an hour and a 1/2 in the park and that was great.
a week ago -
The painted desert North portion of the park is spectacular for its colorful overlooks. The many views and short walks from the pullouts in the Southern part of the park through the petrified trees are intriguing and amazing just thinking about what the area must have looked like millions of years ago when it was densely forested.
2 weeks ago -
There are a lot of different things to see in this park. Beware stops can be crowded and not all tourist are polite. We chose some of the spots less crowded and they did not disappoint. No trip is complete without the purchase of a piece of petrified wood. We skipped the park for this and stopped at the Rainbow Rock Shop in Holbrook.
2 weeks ago