10" Arizona Petrified Wood Bookends - Red And Brown

This is a pair of large bookends made from Late Triassic aged, petrified wood (Araucarioxylon) from the Chinle Formation, of Arizona. The bookends have been polished on one face and the end faces have been felt lined. They are 10.0" and 9.9" tall respectively.

This wood is similar to petrified wood found in the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona. Its petrified forest encompasses nearly 100,000 acres, and is almost entirely represented by the extinct conifer Araucarioxylon arizonicum.

The petrified wood from Araucarioxylon arizonicum happens to be the state fossil of Arizona. It is frequently referred to as "rainbow wood" because of the large variety of colors some specimens exhibit. The reds and oranges come from hematite inclusions within the silica, the yellows from limonite, and the purples from extremely fine hematite spherules.

Araucarioxylon arizonicum is estimated to have grown more than 150 feet high and dominated the tropical forests in what is now Arizona nearly 225 million years ago.

Petrified wood is the name given to wood that has been turned into stone (fossilized) through the process of permineralization. In this process, all of the organic matter becomes replaced by minerals, while much of the original structure, such as tree rings, is retained. For this to happen, the wood needs to be buried in an environment low in oxygen to prevent decomposition and with flowing, mineral-laden water, so minerals may replace structures. The coloration is caused by various minerals that present in that water during fossilization. For example, red colors are due to iron compounds, greens due to copper, and so on.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Araucarioxylon arizonicum
LOCATION
Arizona
FORMATION
Chinle Formation
SIZE
10.0 x 7.1 x 1.7"
CATEGORY
ITEM
#123467
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