fossil

Petrified Wood

Silicified Wood (SiO2)

AI-generated identification · may be incorrect

Hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, colors ranging from brown to red, waxy to vitreous luster, and retains original organic cellular structures.

Identified November 8, 2026More fossil →

Explore Petrified Wood in the encyclopedia →

Identify your own rocks.

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

App Store Google Play

Physical properties

Hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, colors ranging from brown to red, waxy to vitreous luster, and retains original organic cellular structures.

Formation & geological history

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

Uses & applications

Used in decorative carvings, lapidary art, high-end jewelry, and prized by fossil collectors worldwide.

Geological facts

The Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona contains one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood.

Field identification & locations

Identify by its distinct wood grain texture combined with stone-like weight and hardness; commonly found in ancient floodplains and sedimentary basins.

Other fossil specimens

See all

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

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

Porous limestone pebble

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

sedimentary

Fossil oyster shell

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

fossil