Every year, millions of tourists flock to Arizona’s most famous national park: the Grand Canyon.
However, travel experts say there’s a lesser-known, but no less impressive, park in the Copper State that might be even better.
Arizona PThe Etrified Forest National Park is home to stunning views and has plants and fossils dating back to the ‘Dawn of the Dinosaurs’.
But most miraculous of all is its petrified wood (hence the name of the park), which looks like brilliant gems under the desert sun.
Travel journalist Monica Humphries said Insider business information the park is his favorite of the 14 he visited in the US in 2023.
‘The park isn’t home to towering mountains or impressive canyons like many of the more popular national parks, but it does have a natural phenomenon I’ve never seen before. “The petrified wood amazed me,” he said.
‘Between the stunning tables, colorful fossils, and history, I left excited about my decision to stop. And I left with a new favorite park.’
Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona is one of the few places in the United States where petrified wood can be found.
Visitors can tour the park’s 218,000 acres in less than an hour, from either the north or south, and take in views of the petrified forest, badlands and the Painted Desert.
Petrified Forest National Park was established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, and 56 years later, in 1962, it was designated a national park.
The national park is located in the northeast of the state, in Navajo and Apache counties, about 50 miles from the New Mexico border on Interstate 40.
It was established as a national monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, and 56 years later, in 1962, it was designated a national park.
Visitors can tour the park’s 218,000 acres in less than an hour from the north or south, where they will be greeted by glorious views of the Painted Desert. It is the only national park that contains a segment of Route 66.
But it is most famous for its brightly colored petrified wood, composed of almost solid quartz.
The colors are produced by impurities in the quartz, such as iron and carbon. Each piece is like a giant crystal, shining in the sunlight as if covered in glitter. park website explains.
The logs were preserved after they were washed into a river system more than 200 million years ago and buried under a large amount of sediment and debris, cutting off their oxygen and slowing the decomposition process.
The result is so surprising that the photos regularly go viral.
An image showing a cross section of petrified woodIt appeared in at least 17 Reddit discussion groups, with thousands of comments and votes.
It was shared on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Pinterest by hundreds of people, according to Central AZ.
The park has a long history of gem collectors dynamiting wooden logs in search of amethyst or quartz. But this stopped when the area was designated a national monument and then a national park.
Some visitors are known to still try to steal a piece of wood.
However, the park’s ‘Pile of Consciousness’ acts as a memorial to all those who have since returned the precious logs with letters of apology after discovering that the rocks were ‘cursed’ and brought nothing but bad luck.
Pictured: The Grand Canyon, which is a three-hour drive from Petrified Forest National Park.
Petrified wood is made of nearly solid quartz, and each piece sparkles like a giant crystal.
The Rainbow Forest Museum, near the park’s south entrance, shows an introductory film about the park, displays skeletons of prehistoric animals, and offers access to trails.
About half a million people visited Petrified Forest National Park in 2022, compared to about 4.7 million who went to the Grand Canyon. And it ranked 39th out of 63 in terms of visitors, Business Insider reported.
However, there have been no deaths in Petrified National Park since 2010, while the Grand Canyon averages about 12 deaths per year, with approximately 2,007 deaths since 2007.
Petrified Forest National Park also attracts paleontologists from around the world, who have discovered fossils more than 200 million years old, the era known as “The Dawn of the Dinosaurs.”
A recent excavation turned up microfossils containing jaws and teeth of early reptiles, as well as fossils of phytosaurs, which were the crocodile’s earliest ancestors, according to AZ central.
Information about these fossils and petrified wood can be found at the Rainbow Forest Museum, near the park’s south entrance.
Here you can watch an introductory film about the park, see skeletons of prehistoric animals, and access trails within the park, according to America today.
You can also learn about the history of the area at Puerco Pueblo, an archaeological site that was previously a town about 600 years ago with up to 200 residents.
The park attracts more than 600,000 visitors each year, many of whom try to keep portions of the quartz.
More than 650 petroglyphs can be found at Newspaper Rock, which are images etched directly into the surface of the rocks.
The petroglyphs were created by the Pueblo people who lived along the Puerco River, between 650 and 2,000 years ago.
“I’ve seen incredible mountains and lakes all over the country, but I’ve never seen petrified wood,” said travel journalist Monica Humphries.
Gem collectors used to dynamit the logs to try to find quartz and opal, but the practice was prevented after the petrified forest was named a national monument and later a national park.
Paleontological excavations have uncovered fossils more than 200 million years old, the age commonly known as “Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” within the park.
More than 650 petroglyphs can be found at Newspaper Rock, which are images etched directly into the surface of the rocks.
They were created by the Pueblo people who lived along the Puerco River between 650 and 2,000 years ago, according to the park’s website.
The logs that created the park’s stunning views were washed into a river system more than 200 million years ago and buried quickly and deeply by a large amount of sediment and debris, cutting off their oxygen and slowing the decomposition process.
