Preserving The Past…

A Virtual Tour of the Petrified Forest National Park

Welcome To The Petrified Forest National Park, or PEFO

• Here, you are the researcher• Experience the beauty without

braving the elements• First…an introduction, some pretty

pictures and some basic rules…

Stop 1: Painted Desert Inn• Originally made from

petrified wood

• Murals painted on the inside are depictions of Native American stories

• More Information:– http://www.nps.gov/pefo/

historyculture/pdi.htm

Painted Desert• Also called Badlands• Formed from erosion• Colorful layers each

have a name• Within Petrified

Forest National Park, the layers of the Chinle Formation are divided into five members

What You Might See

• Plants• Wildlife• Pottery • Fossils• Petrified

Wood

It is important to leave these alone – you can look, touch, and feel, but place everything back right where it wasClick here for more information

How Did This Get Like That?• Weathered mini

hoodoos – originally looked like the hills in the background

• Weathering (mostly wind) has left them like this

• Hills in the background will eventually look like those in foreground

How Did This Get Like That?• Petrified Wood

– Formed millions of years ago

– in a marine like environment

– There was volcanic activity

– Ash and silica filled the cells and made them into rock

– Different minerals are responsible for the colors

Rules of the Road• Never remove

Artifacts, Petrified Wood, or other items

• There was a time when Petrified Wood was being mined and in danger of disappearing

• Thousands of people visit every year. – If everyone took some

it would all disappear

Just kidding…this thing weighs about 200

lbs!

Rules of the Road• Removing pottery and

other artifacts– Even if you move it from

it’s location, it is no longer near it’s original place, and is now out of context

– It no longer applies to the area in which it was found

– It may be something sacred

– If you think it is super important, notify the park – DON’T take it to anyone

More Information• Link to PEFO• Link to RASI Paper• Link to Research Articles• Link to Bio(s) of Professors, etc

Resources• Cultural

– Archaeological• Archaeologists and

Paleontologists study the pottery and artifacts found

– There are many in the park• Rocks marked by travelers

in the past• Old stage stop where mail

carriers on horseback stayed

• Non-Renewable– None of these can be

replaced– Once it’s gone, it’s gone

Now, For the Introduction to RASI and Weathering

• Link to the RASI Lab (or instructions on how to find it)