Petrified Forest National Park

  At first a National Monument, Petrified Forest is not your usual national park. Located at Navajo, Arizona, and measuring at  85,542 sq miles, Petrified Forest National Park was discovered in 1853 when the southwest became part of the US. During his expedition to find a route for the railroad along the 35th Parallel, Lieutenant Amiel Whipple ran into the huge Petrified Forest. Whipple and his team documented and illustrated their findings being the first Americans to discover the park. Eventually, when the southwest was developed and people began to move in, the Petrified Forest gained a lot of popularity. The Arizona Territorial Legislature asked the U.S. Congress to make it a national park and they were declined, but finally, in 1906, it was made a national park. Then when the Great Depression came around and the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) was formed; they constructed many roads, trails, and structures in the monument. This helped support Arizona’s case and in 1952, Petrified Forest was made in a national park. 

The Petrified Forest National Park is one of many petrified forests in the world. Petrification is a natural process that occurs when all organic material in a tree dies and is replaced by a combination of minerals like quartz, copper, and iron. Once a tree is petrified, the petrified wood is no longer considered wood, and it becomes classified as a stone. The petrification of a forest can take millions of years uninterrupted to complete. This is why there are few petrified forests out in the world, and all of them are national monuments and are carefully protected.

Like any usual desert grassland, Petrified National Forest is filled with a large variety of mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, and plants. And being filled with petrified trees, the petrified forest is home to at least 447 different species of plants including 100 different grass plant species. Some tourists' favorites include the evening primrose, mariposa lily, and the blue fax. Animals in the forest include coyotes, lizards, prairie dogs, scorpions, and many more. The majority of animals are nocturnal and only active in night time, due to the hot daytime temperatures.

 If you're planning to take a trip to Petrified Forest I highly recommend you bring a lot of water because it is really hot, also make sure to buy a piece of petrified wood to take home with you.