Day 9: Petrified Forest & Meteor Crater

Once again, we had such a full day that we didn't get this post written until the morning.  Sorry!

Yesterday we started the day by driving out to Petrified Forest National Park.  Once we arrived, Ranger Lauren Carter gave a talk on the Triassic Period.  We learned that the trees that are now petrified grew over 200 million years ago in a tropical rainforest.  When they died, they were buried by silica-rich sediments (probably volcanic ash) in a wet, oxygen-poor environment.  The areas where high concentrations of petrified wood are now found were probably log-jams in an ancient river.  Over millions of years, the silica and other minerals leached into the woods and crystals replaced the organic material inside the cells.  We also learned about the different reptiles that lived in the late Triassic.  Many fossils have been identified within the park.


Gary with one of the giant logs

A colorful petrified tree at Crystal Forest

After we listened to the talk, we went on a couple of short hikes: one on the Giant Logs trail and one on the Crystal Forest trail.  We drove north through the park to Chinde Point for lunch, where we had a great view of the Painted Desert.  We learned that Gertie, a Chindesaurus fossil, was found in the Painted Desert Wilderness near Chinde Point.  (See Park Map)

The Painted Desert from Chinde Point

On the way back to Flagstaff, we stopped at Meteor Crater, also known as Barringer Crater.  Meteor Crater is the first confirmed meteoric impact crater and to this day is one of the best preserved.  It was mined at the beginning of the 20th century by Daniel Moreau Barringer, who was convinced that the crater was caused by a meteor (rather than a volcano) and spent 25 years looking for the iron-rich meteor in the bottom of the crater.  His descendents, along with the families that ranch the nearby areas, still own and operate the crater today.

Most of the group then went back to the Lowell Observatory to see the PANSTARRS comet.  Mr. Mogil took some great pictures and wrote an article about our viewing.  A few of us went back to the house to make dinner.  The beef & broccoli and curry were fantastic.