LARGE 11LBS 3 Million Year Old Petrified California Redwood w/Quartz & Opal RARE for Sale

LARGE 11LBS 3 Million Year Old Petrified California Redwood w/Quartz & Opal RARE For Sale

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LARGE 11LBS 3 Million Year Old Petrified California Redwood w/Quartz & Opal RARE:
$25.00

LARGE 11LBS 3 Million Year Old Petrified California Redwood w/Quartz & Opal RARE

Age: 3.4 Million Years Old

Weight: 11 pounds, 7 ounces

The Petrified Forest, in Calistoga, California holds one of the finest examples in the world of a preserved ancient forest. This unique site at the gateway to the Napa Valley was created following a violent volcanic explosion 3.4 million years ago. The incredibly powerful blast (similar to Mt. St. Helens, Washington state) knocked down a forest of prehistoric Redwood trees (Sequoia langsdorfii) in a SW-NE orientation. Thick layers of volcanic ash billowing from the volcano rapidly buried the trees, creating an anaerobic (oxygen deprived) environment which discouraged the presence of the bacteria that decompose organic material. For thousands of years the formation of mineral-rich water percolated through the ashy deposits, saturating the pores of the organic tissues of the Redwoods with silica, filling the cellular spaces. During this process the saturated water evaporated, and the excess minerals were deposited in the cells and tissues, creating a three-dimensional fossil through the process of permineralization, and perfectly preserving even the most minute detail of the wood.

The petrified trees at this site remained buried for 3.4 million years until, in 1870, an intrepid Swedish homesteader by the name of Charles Evans (\"Petrified Charley\"), discovered the top of an old hollow log that was as hard as stone. His initial curiosity led a number of scientists to visit the property in order to learn more about these natural wonders in California. One such visitor was the famed American paleontologist O.C. Marsh. Through his observations of the site, and the analysis of the petrified wood back at Yale University, he wrote \"A Fossil Forest in the Tertiary of California,\" published in The American Journal of Science and Arts in 1871. These initial studies of the petrified forest were continued in the late 1920s by world renowned paleobotanist Ralph W. Chaney from U.C. Berkeley, who wrote \"Redwoods of the Past\", which started a career long study of Redwoods in the fossil record. This collaboration with U.C. Berkeley continues today, allowing further development of the understanding of California\'s petrified forest as it is today, as well as teaching about the environments of the past. Through the years, the Petrified Forest has also been a sanctuary and place of interest for many other notable individuals. In 1880, Robert Louis Stevenson recorded his visit to the Petrified Forest in his book \"The Silverado Squatters,\" while exploring the local environments with his new wife, Fanny Stevenson. Luther Burbank, one of the most important horticulturalists the world has ever known, also took time out of his busy schedule to contribute to our understanding of the Petrified Forest. During his visits he assisted in the study of a number of native plants and trees on the property, and helped dedicate a large piece of petrified wood to Central Park in New York.