America’s Petrified Forests
Trees often live longer than us humans, but the oldest individual living trees on the planet currently are just several thousand years old. The oldest species in the US are hardy Great Basin bristlecone pines located in and around Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the California White Mountains and giant sequoias located in Sequoia National Park. If you want to see trees older than that, you must seek out petrified trees.
The United States has several great places to see them. The best known is Petrified Forest National Park located northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. At that park they are abundant and easy to access, however most are laying down on the ground. At some of the petrified forests below, the tree trunks are still standing tall.
Petrified log rounds that look as though they have been cut with a chain saw.
If you visit these parks and forest you’ll be seeing trees that are many millions of years old. They have been turned to stone and are well-preserved against the forces of nature. The resulting rocks are colorful and still have tree rings and bark.
Here are the best petrified forests in the US
1. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
2. Calistoga Petrified Forest, California
3. Gallatin Petrified Forest, Montana
4. Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Utah
5. Wolverine Petrified Wood Area, Utah
6. Zion National Park Petrified Forest, Utah
7. Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park, Washington
8. Yellowstone Petrified Forest, Wyoming
–
The Petrified Tree at Yellowstone National Park (a redwood tree)