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by Anonymous on December 24th, 2005

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How long does it take for wood to petrify?

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  • by Alatea on December 24th, 2005

    Alatea

    Petrified wood has been preserved for millions of years by the process of petrification. This process turns the wood into quartz crystal, which is very brittle and shatters. Even though petrified wood is fragile, it is also harder than steel.

    The process of petrification starts with three raw ingredients: wood, water and mud. Petrification of the wood found in the Petrified Forest began during the Triassic Period when the primitive conifers fell to the ground and into the waterways, entering into their journey through time. The logs were swept and tumbled downstream with sediment and other debris. The streams traveled through a plain of lakes and swamps where the wood, sediment and debris were deposited along the way.
    Four hundred feet of sediment was deposited in the plain by the rivers that originated from the Mogollon Highland volcanic mountain range. That layer of sediment is known today as the Chinle Formation. As the logs were deposited in the plain they were buried with mud and debris, beginning the petrification process.
    The mud that covered the logs contained volcanic ash, a key ingredient in the petrification process. When the volcanic ash began to decompose it released chemicals into the water and mud. As the water seeped into the wood the chemicals from the volcanic ash reacted to the wood and formed into quartz crystals. As the crystals grew over time, the wood became encased in the crystals which, over millions of years, turned the wood into stone.

    http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/jan/papr/rock.html

    Comments

    • the question was how long not how

      Candyman194851

      by Candyman194851 on December 24th, 2005

    • The answer says millions of years. Good enough for me.

      go_to_hellas

      by go_to_hellas on December 25th, 2005

    • Good answer, Alatea. "millions of years" twice wtitten, sounds like a "how long" answer to me. Interesting process.

      Jodie44

      by Jodie44 on December 26th, 2005

    • it is right millions

      Sergio

      by Sergio on December 27th, 2005

    • O.K , it takes a long time , but what keeps it from decomposing , and becoming a stone ?

      alphadog

      by alphadog on October 7th, 2006

    • Petrified wood has been preserved for actually 4500 years NOT millions of yrs since the earth is only more or less 6,000 yrs old
      and its never been proven other wize but the only way thingsa can petrify or fossilize is by being burried rapidly.. a whole lot of water in a little bit of time.. actually all the fossils pil and coal was formed within a yr to a few hundred yrs after the flood of noah 4400 to 4500 yrs ago. none of this millions of yrs illogical Bolognia they want you to think.just because they want to think that.
      http://crusader37.webs.com/
      because evolution is only a religion because they want you to belive it with no proof or evidence to back it up because there is none

      ERMRM

      by ERMRM on June 16th, 2011

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