top of page
IMG_6714.JPG

Projects in United States of America

The whispers of the petrified woods from the Independence Land

Fossil wood in The United States of America

Petrified wood, the fossilized remains of ancient trees transformed into stone, can be found in various locations across the United States. These captivating remnants provide a glimpse into the Earth's history, showcasing the wonders of natural preservation and geological transformations. Petrified wood can be found in several notable locations across the United States, from national parks to state parks and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, offering unique opportunities to explore and appreciate the beauty and significance of petrified wood. 

 

Below is a list of renowned petrified forests in the United States, where nature enthusiasts, fossil lovers, and curious visitors can explore ancient remnants and appreciate the intriguing stories they hold about our planet's past:

  1. Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park

  2. California's Calistoga Petrified Forest

  3. Washington's Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park

  4. Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park (Specimen Ridge)

  5. Wyoming's Eden Valley Blue Forest

  6. Colorado's Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

  7. North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park

  8. South Dakota's Badlands National Park

These various locations provide opportunities to immerse oneself in the wonders of petrified wood and gain a deeper understanding of our planet's geological history.

Gallery

Our Projects in The United States of America

References

Alexander J. Artifact of the month (C Turbiville, ed.). Pages 10-11 in Volunteer Vaquero [R]. December newsletter. Wyoming state museum, Cheyenne, 2009. 

 

Baas P, Wheeler E A . Wood anatomy and climate change. Pages 141–155 in Hodkinson T R, Jones M B, Waldren S and Parnell J A N, eds. Climate Change, Ecology and Systematics. Cambridge University Press [M]. Cambridge, 2011. 

 

Bailey I W. The problem of identifying the wood of Cretaceous and later dicotyledons Paraphyllanthoxylon arizonense [J]. Annals of Botany, 1924, 38:

 

439–451. Berger W Pflanzenreste aus dem Wienerwaldflysch [J]. Sber Ost Akad Wiss, math.–naturw Kl, 1950, 159:11–24. Berry E W. Revision of the Lower Eocene Wilcox flora of the southeastern states, with Descriptions of new species, chiefly from Tennessee and Kentucky [M]. U.S.Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1930, 156: 1–196. 

 

Boonchai N, Manchester S R. Systematic Affinities of Early Eocene Petrified Woods from Big Sandy Reservoir, Southwestern Wyoming [J]. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 2012, 173 (2): 209–277. 

 

Bradley W H. Geological map of a part of southwestern Wyoming and adjacent States.U.S. Geological Survey IMAP 332, 1961. Bradley W H. Shore phases of the Green River formation in northern Sweetwater County, Wyoming, IN Shorter contributions to general geology, 1925 [R]. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 140-D, p. D121-D131, 1926.

 

Bradley W H. Geology of the Green River Formation and associated Eocene rocks in southwestern Wyoming and adjacent parts of Colorado and Utah [M]. U.S.Geological Survey Professional Paper 469-A, p. A1-A86, 1964. 

 

Bradley W H. Algae and Plant Hairs from the Green River Formation of Wyoming [J]. American Journal of Botany, 1970, 57(7): 782–785.

 

Brand L R. Lacustrine deposition in the Bridger Formation: Lake Gosiute extended [J]. The Mountain Geologist , 2007, 44:69–77 Brett D W. Fossil wood of Anacardiaceae from the British Eocene [J]. Palaeontology, 1966, 9 (3): 360– 364. 

 

Brown R W. The recognizable species of the Green River flora [R]. U.S.Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1934, 185–C:45–77. Buchheim H P, 

 

Brand L R, Goodwin H T. Lacustrine to fluvial floodplain deposition in the Eocene Bridger Formation [J]. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2000 ,162:191–209. 

 

Carlquist S. Comparative wood anatomy: systematic, ecological, and evolutionary aspects of dicotyledonous wood, rev. 2nd. ed [M]. Springer–Verlag, Berlin, 2001. Carroll A R, Bohacs K M. Stratigraphic classification of ancient lakes: Balancing tectonics and climatic controls [J]. Geology, 1999, 27: 99–102. 

 

Chetel L M, Carroll A R. Terminal infill of Eocene Lake Gosiute, Wyoming, USA [J]. Journal of Sedimentary Research , 2010, 80(6): 492–514. Crawley W. Dicotyledonous wood from the lower Tertiary of Britain [J]. Palaeontology, 1989, 132 (3):597–622. 

 

Dupéron J, Dupéron–Laudoupeneix M, Sakala J, De Franceschi D. Ulminium diluviale Unger: historique de la découverte et nouvelle etude [J]. Annales De Paleontologie, 2008 , 94:1–12. 

 

Dupéron–Laudoupeneix M, Dupéron J. Bois fossiles de Lauraceae: nouvelle découverte au Cameroun, inventaire et discussion [J]. Annales De Paleontologie , 2005, 91:127–151. 

 

Edwards W N. Dicotyledones (Ligna) in W Jongmans ed. Fossilium Catalogus II: Plantae [M]. Part 17: 1–96, Berlin, 1931. Elias T S. The complete trees of North America: field guide and natural history [M]. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1980.

 

Gothan W. Die fossilen Hölzer von der Seymour und Snow Hill–Insel [M]. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolarexpedition 1901–1903, 1908, 3:1–33. 

 

Graham A, Jarzen D M.Studies in Neotropical 

Paleobotany. I. The Oligocene communities of Puerto Rico [J]. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1969, 56:308–357. 

 

Gregory M, Poole I, Wheeler E A. Fossil dicot wood names: an annotated list with full bibliography [J]. IAWA Journal, Supplement 6, 2009 , 220 pp. 

 

Greguss P. Identification of Living Gymnosperms on the basis of Xylotomy [M]. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 263 pp, 1955.

 

Hausel, WD 2004 Guide to prospecting and rock hunting in Wyoming: Information Pamphlet 11. Wyoming State Geological Survey. Laramie, 1-32.

 

Ilic J CSIRO Atlas of hardwoods [M]. Springer–Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1991. 

 

Knight D H. Mountains and Plains: The Ecology of Wyoming Landscapes [M]. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1994. 

 

Knowlton F H. Description of a new genus and species of conifer wood from the Jurassic of the Black Hills. In Ward L F (Ed.) [R]. Status of the Mesozoic floras of the United States — the older Mesozoic: Twentieth annual report of the United States Geological Survey, 2, 1900 , pp. 420–422. 

 

Knowlton F H. The fossil forests of the Yellowstone National Park [EB/OL]. U.S. Geological Survey, 1921 [12/04/2012]: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/yell/knowlton/index.htm

 

MacGinitie H D. The Eocene Green River flora of northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah [J]. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences, 1969, 83:1–202. 

 

Mustoe, GE, M Viney, J Mills 2019 Mineralogy of Eocene fossil wood from the “Blue Forest” locality, southwestern  Wyoming, United States. Geosciences, 9: 35.

 

Kane, EA, ED Broder, AC Warnock, CM Butler, AL Judish, LM, Angeloni, CK Ghalambor 2018 Small fish, big questions: inquiry kits for teaching evolution. The American Biology Teacher, 80: 124-131.

 

Soister, PE 1968 Stratigraphy of the Wind River Formation in south-central Wind River Basin, Wyoming. US Geological Survey. Professional Paper Vol. 594.

 

Viney, M 2020 The Blue Forest of Ancient Lake Gosiute: Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Rocks & Minerals, 95: 154-162.

 

Wilf, P 2000 Late Paleocene–early Eocene climate changes in southwestern Wyoming: Paleobotanical analysis. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 112: 292-307.

 

Wheeler, EA, RA Scot, ES Barghoorn 1977 Fossil dicotyledonous woods from Yellowstone National Park region. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, 58: 280–302.

 

Wheeler, EA, RA Scott 1978 Fossil  dicotyledonous woods from Yellowstone National Park, II. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, 59: 1–26.

 

Wing, SL 1987 Eocene and Oligocene floras and  vegetation of the Rocky Mountains. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden

74: 748-784.Wheeler, EA 2011 InsideWood – a web resource for hardwood  anatomy. IAWA Journal, 32: 199–211.

ACT NOW!

Protecting the World’s Lost and Ancient Forests

bottom of page