Rock Identifier
Petrified Wood (Silicified wood (Quartz replacement)) — fossil
fossil

Petrified Wood

Silicified wood (Quartz replacement)

AI-generated identification · may be incorrect

Hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, colors ranging from brown and red to yellow, vitreous to dull luster, amorphous crystal structure with preserved cellular grain.

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 ranging from brown and red to yellow, vitreous to dull luster, amorphous crystal structure with preserved cellular grain.

Formation & geological history

Formed through perimineralization, where organic wood is buried under sediment and gradually replaced by silica-rich groundwater over millions of years.

Uses & applications

Used in ornamental carvings, lapidary arts, high-end jewelry, and as sought-after collector specimens.

Geological facts

The petrification process preserves microscopic cellular structures of ancient trees, sometimes dating back over 200 million years to the Triassic period.

Field identification & locations

Identified by its wooden grain texture combined with stone-like weight and hardness; commonly found in areas with ancient volcanic ash deposits.

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