Rare Amarillo Petrified Wood 1 lbs 3 oz / 538.64 gr

Beautiful End Cut

This is an end cut specimen piece. It is not polished. The cut face shows both cellular detail and nice color, especially when wet. A skilled lapidary artists may be able to get a couple of cabs out of this piece, but a polish on the cut face will make a nice Araucaria Amarillo petrified wood display specimen.

About Amarillo Petrified Wood

Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees found primarily in the southern hemisphere today. During the late Jurassic and early Triassic periods Araucaria had a global presence.

This Araucaria petrified wood is found in the Dockum formation near Amarillo, Texas, and ages to the upper Triassic period. The characteristics that make Amarillo Petrified Wood a desirable collectible, are vivid colors, cellular detail in some samples, and the fact that they are 3D fossils that connect us to a time long past.

Araucaria Amarillo Petrified Wood is formed through a process called permineralization. Here's a simplified breakdown of how it happens:

1. Burial: A tree, in this case an Araucaria, dies and falls to the ground. Over time, it becomes buried under layers of sediment, such as mud, sand, or volcanic ash.
2. Mineral-Rich Water: Groundwater, which contains dissolved minerals like silica, flows through the buried wood.
3. Mineral Deposition: As the water moves through the wood, the minerals begin to fill in the empty spaces within the plant cells. This process is called permineralization.
4. Petrification: Over millions of years, the original organic material of the wood is gradually replaced by minerals. The resulting stone retains the original shape and structure of the wood, including growth rings and sometimes even cellular details.

The specific minerals involved and the conditions of burial can influence the color and appearance of the petrified wood. In the case of Araucaria Amarillo Petrified Wood, the minerals present often give it a range of colors, from browns and reds to yellows and even greens.