This is one of the most spectacular areas of the park known for its brightly colored petrified wood. Approximately 225 million years ago, during the Triassic Period, a floodplain existed in this area - littered with fallen trees. Periodic flooding buried the logs beneath layers of silt. Over time, silica-laden waters filtered through the deposits and petrified the wood by encasing the trees' organic material with minerals.
Iron oxides give petrified wood its distinctive red, yellow, and orange hues; manganese oxides produce plues, purples and deep blacks, while the original carbon produces the shades of gray. Centuries of erosion washed away concealing sediment deposits to expose these remnants of Triassic woodlands.
Directions
If you enter the park from the north, stay on the main road for about 20 miles and the parking area of Crystal Forest will be to your left.
Selected Pictures
Those pictures have been taken during multiple visits of the park, therefore the brightness and quality varies due to different weather conditions and advances in digital camera technology.
