Petrified Wood: Petrified wood is the preserved remains of prehistoric plants, commonly replaced by members of the quartz mineral family like agate, jasper, and opal. The name comes from the Latin petrificāre (petra “stone” +-ficare “to make”). Petrified wood is created by two geological processes called permineralization and replacement. Open spaces inside the wood can be filled by minerals (“permineralization”) or the space once occupied by organic material is replaced entirely as it decays.
Petrified wood is colored by trace inclusions of minerals like iron oxides (red, black, and purple), hydrated iron oxides (orange, yellow, and earth tones), manganese oxides (black and purple), and carbon (black). Because multiple deposits of petrified wood can be combined during processing, it is broadly dated as being Triassic in age.
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