Rock Identifier
Petrified Wood (Silicified Wood (Permineralized organic material)) — fossil
fossil

Petrified Wood

Silicified Wood (Permineralized organic material)

AI-generated identification · may be incorrect

Mohs hardness of 7, colors range from brown to red and grey, vitreous to waxy luster, amorphous crystal structure with preserved cellular wood patterns.

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

Mohs hardness of 7, colors range from brown to red and grey, vitreous to waxy luster, amorphous crystal structure with preserved cellular wood patterns.

Formation & geological history

Formed over millions of years when buried tree remains are saturated with silica-rich groundwater, replacing organic matter with quartz.

Uses & applications

Used for ornamental carvings, decorative tabletops, lapidary cabochons, and prized by fossil and mineral collectors.

Geological facts

Famous occurrences include the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, dating back over 200 million years to the Triassic period.

Field identification & locations

Identified by retaining the exterior texture and growth rings of wood while feeling exceptionally heavy and scratching glass; found worldwide in sedimentary rock layers.

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