Rock Identifier
Petrified wood (Silicified fossil wood; commonly composed of microcrystalline quartz (SiO₂)) — fossil
fossil

Petrified wood

Silicified fossil wood; commonly composed of microcrystalline quartz (SiO₂)

AI-generated identification · may be incorrect

Wood-grain texture and elongated form are visible. If petrified, hardness is about 7 Mohs, with a vitreous-to-waxy luster and no cleavage; the image alone cannot confirm mineralization or determine color reliably.

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

Wood-grain texture and elongated form are visible. If petrified, hardness is about 7 Mohs, with a vitreous-to-waxy luster and no cleavage; the image alone cannot confirm mineralization or determine color reliably.

Formation & geological history

Forms when buried wood is gradually replaced or filled by silica-rich groundwater while retaining its structure. Fossil wood ranges from relatively recent deposits to hundreds of millions of years old; this specimen’s age and locality cannot be determined from the photo.

Uses & applications

Collected and displayed as a fossil; polished pieces are used in lapidary work and décor. It has little structural or industrial use compared with ordinary wood or silica materials.

Geological facts

Petrified wood preserves anatomical details such as growth rings and cellular structure, sometimes at microscopic scale.

Field identification & locations

The grain-like ridges suggest wood, but the pictured piece could also be ordinary weathered wood; petrified wood is heavier and harder than wood and does not splinter or burn like it. Common deposits occur in volcanic-ash-rich sedimentary settings 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
Fossil oyster shell (Oyster (family Ostreidae); shell composed chiefly of calcite (CaCO₃)) — fossil

Fossil oyster shell

Oyster (family Ostreidae); shell composed chiefly of calcite (CaCO₃)

fossil
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