Petrified Forest National Park was once a vast floodplain and tall, noble conifer trees grew along the banks. The trees eventually fell and were washed into the floodplain. A mix of silt, mud, and volcanic ash buried the logs. This sediment cut off oxygen and eventually the silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs. Eventually the silica crystallized into quartz, and the logs were preserved as petrified wood....
