Rock Identifier
Petrified Wood (Silicified wood (primarily quartz, SiO2)) — fossil
fossil

Petrified Wood

Silicified wood (primarily quartz, SiO2)

AI-generated identification · may be incorrect

Hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale; colors range from brown and black to red and yellow; vitreous to waxy luster; amorphous crystal structure replacing original organic cellular matrices.

Identified More fossil →
Explore Petrified Wood in the encyclopedia →

Identify your own rocks.

Get a report just like this from any photo, free.

App StoreGoogle Play

Physical properties

Hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale; colors range from brown and black to red and yellow; vitreous to waxy luster; amorphous crystal structure replacing original organic cellular matrices.

Formation & geological history

Formed through permineralization when buried organic wood is slowly replaced by groundwater-dissolved silica over millions of years.

Uses & applications

Used primarily in lapidary arts for decorative objects, jewelry, and polished display specimens.

Geological facts

Petrified wood can preserve microscopic cellular details of ancient trees dating back hundreds of millions of years.

Field identification & locations

Identified by wood grain textures combined with a stony, high-density weight and vitreous fracture; commonly found in ancient alluvial deposits worldwide.

More like this

Other fossil specimens

Probable fossil-bearing rock or mineral concretion (Unidentified carbonate-rich concretion with a possible fossil inclusion) — fossil

Probable fossil-bearing rock or mineral concretion

Unidentified carbonate-rich concretion with a possible fossil inclusion

fossil
Likely fossil oyster shell (Fossilized bivalve shell; exact species cannot be identified from the image) — fossil

Likely fossil oyster shell

Fossilized bivalve shell; exact species cannot be identified from the image

fossil
Crinoid Stem Fossil in Matrix (Phylum Echinodermata, Class Crinoidea) — fossil

Crinoid Stem Fossil in Matrix

Phylum Echinodermata, Class Crinoidea

fossil
Fossiliferous limestone (likely a crinoidal or shell-fragment limestone) (Bioclastic limestone, composed chiefly of calcite (CaCO₃)) — sedimentary

Fossiliferous limestone (likely a crinoidal or shell-fragment limestone)

Bioclastic limestone, composed chiefly of calcite (CaCO₃)

sedimentary
Porous limestone pebble (Calcite-rich limestone (primarily CaCO₃); exact identification is uncertain from the image) — sedimentary

Porous limestone pebble

Calcite-rich limestone (primarily CaCO₃); exact identification is uncertain from the image

sedimentary
Weathered fossil bone fragment (identification uncertain) (Fossilized bone; exact taxon and mineral composition cannot be determined from the image) — fossil

Weathered fossil bone fragment (identification uncertain)

Fossilized bone; exact taxon and mineral composition cannot be determined from the image

fossil