Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-08-07
A NATURAL BRIDGE or AGATE,
some OF the Wonderful Things in Chalce-
dony Park. Arizona

some OF the Wonderful Things in ChaIce- i
dony Park. Arizona.
Among the Great American wonders
IS the silicified forest known as Chalce- |
aony Park. situated eight miles south |
OF Corrizlo. station on the Atlantic |
and Pacific railroad. in Apache Coun-
ty, Arizona. The country formation is |
on volcanic ash, and the |
trees are exposed in gulches and basins |
where the water has worn the sand |
stone away, or are buried beneath the
sandstone. their ends protuding from
between the formations. The locality
was noticed in 1853 by the Pacific rail-
roads exploring survey. The Jasper
and agate generally replaced the cell
walls and fibers, and the transparent
quartz filled the cells and interstices,
especially where the structure was
broken down by decay. These cell
centers and cavities produced condi-
tions favorable not only for the deposi-
tion of silica as quartz, but also for
the formation of the drusy crystalline
cavities of quartz and amethyst that so
increase the beauty of the material.
There is every evidence to show that
the trees grew beside some inland sea.
After falling they became water-logged,
and during decomposition the cell
structure of the wood was entirely re-
placed by the silica from the sandstone
in the walls surrounding this great
inland sea- Maj. John w. Powell, who
has visited all these regions, says:
The wood consisted of logs water
rolled before burial, and are now
gradually weathering out of their ma
trix. The inclosing rock is sandstone
and cretaceous shale of the series
known as Jura-trias. and lying immedi-
ately above the Chinarump. Agatized
wood containing much semi-opai has
been formed in California (and possibly
in Arizona) under volcanic deposits, but
the wood in question is not associated
with volcanic material; its matrix is
sedimentary."
The red and yellow coloring matter
is derived from the oxide of iron in the
sandstone, which is red, and the black
may be due to partial carbonization or
to oxide of manganese. The bark in
nearly every case has been decayed be-
fore silicitication. and even part of the
other layers of the tree is often gone,
but the difference between the oxidation
on the surface and inside is that the
surface to the depth of half an inch is
SO altered and changed that il has the
appearance of bark, and is generally
supposed to be such.
There is every indication that the
deposit is of considerable depth. Over
the entire area trees lie scattered in
all conceivable positions and in frag-
ments of all sizes, the broken sections
sometimes resembling pile of cart
wheels. A tree $50 feet in length is
often found split into as many sections
of almost uniform length, presenting
the appearance of having been sawn
asunder for shingle-blocks by some
prehistoric forester or broken into
countless fragments, ranging from the
size of small pebble to that of fair
sized bowlder, also fractured into per-
feet shaped cubes as if cut by lapid-
ary. These multiplied fractures are
the result of alternate heat and cold,
produced by atmospheric changes act
ing. on the water in the assures of the
tree.
A phenomenon perhaps unparalleled
and the most remarkable feature of the
park is natural bridge formed by a
tree of agatized wood spanning canon
45 feet in width. In addition to the
span fully fifty feet of the tree rest on
one side, making it visible for a length
of over 100 feet. Both ends of the
tree are imbedded in the sandstone.
1t averages s 1-2 feet in diameter, 4
feet at the thickest part, and at the
smallest. Where the bark does not
adhere the characteristic colors of
jasper and agate are seen. Although
the wood is beautiful to the naked eye
microscope is needed to reveal its
greatest charms; not only does the
glass enhance the brilliancy of its
colors, but it renders visible the struc-
ture, which has been perfectly pre-.
served even to the forms of minute cells,
and is more beautiful now than before
the transformation.
DR.. P. n. Dudley examined micro
scopically some sections of this wood
and found that part of it, at least, be-
longs to the genus Araucaria, one
species of which. Araucaria excelsa, the
Norfolk Island pine of the South Paci-
fic Ocean, according to the same author
ity. grows to height of 100 to 200
feet. Other portions were found to re-
semble our red cedar, Juniperus Vir-
giniana, when grown in the extreme
South. The cell structure of some of
the wood indicates growth in mild,
| uniform climate, the annual rings be-
ing marked by only one, two. three. or
more slightly smaller hexagonal or
rounded, not tabular cells, as Is usual
| ly the case. The name of .Chinarump''
has been suggested for this material by
Maj. John W. Powell, this being the
Indian name for the substance. These
trees, according to one of the Indian
myths, we're believed to be the bolts oi
the arrows used by their god. 1t has
been extensively used by them in
making spear and arrow points.