The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-11-02
A PETR|F|BD FOREST
Freak of Nature in a Section of
the Painted Desert of
Arizona.
EIGHT MILES SQUARE.
Tree Trunks Like Ordinary Timber
Save That They Have Turned to
Stone-TheorieH Advanced by
Geolosiet0-"a,.y Varieties Of
Quartz Found.

Quartz Found.
Tho petriiied forest Of Arizona. as it
is commonly called, has been estimat-
ed by scientists VINO have explored it
to embrace territory about eight
miles square. This includes the three
sections of the forest says the New
York Sun.
The first or northern section and the
second or middle section differ consid-
erably from the third, since the trees
of the latter, which have thus far been
exposed, are not yaricolored, but of a
uniformly dark hCe, ct times ap-
preaching black.
Recent examinations of the Painted
Desert, where the deposits are located,
indicate that thus far only a part has
been uncovered, and that the forest is
Of far greater extent than has been
thought. Every year the action of the
elements brings to view more and
more of 1t, and there is evidence that
it reaches considerably beyond the
boundaries already defined
The curious positions in which some
Of the petrified trees have been found
have possibly caused more attention
to be given to this feature of the for
est than to the wonderful variety OF
quartz into which the wood has been
converted, as well as the manner in
which nature has exposed these trunks
which have PERHAPS been turned to
stone since the mesozoic age.
The term deposit as applied to this
formation is perhaps more appropriate
| than forest, since people are apt to
| regard forest as growth of trees in
| the natural position. Only in very
| few instances have trunks been found
standing upright.
The most notable formation is famiI-
| lar to all who have visited this place
portion of trunk held in an invert-
| ed position with stubs of petrified
roots still clinging to the butt. Prac-
tically all Of the trees, however, are
PROSTATE and it is safe to say not one
| is of it's original length.
| Even the so-called natural bridge
which spans little ravine in the mid
die deposit is probably but section of
the original tree, although it has been
exposed for distance Of Ill feet.
With this exception, and few logs
ranging from 20 to 80 feet in length,
/ the great mass of the material is in
| small pieces. Glancing at some Of the
deposits at the foot of the mesa, the
regularity with which they have been
| H,,
1t would seem as If some one had
come here in prehistoric times with
4 saw and axe and cut the logs into
suitable lengths for planking, even in
to as small sizes as shingle bolts.
The incisions across the butts are
made as evenly. as If done with sharp
blade. Where the bark has retained its
natural color the illusion is even more
| perfect. In fact there are acres of this
/ formation which look as if the lumber
man had just left it; yet every bit Of
the work has been done by the action
! of the elements.
The prevailing opinion of geologists
is that the trees have been carried
Several hundred feet below their first
hNo'AhS pAuNS W LhC 1llOu VI
, the mesa. Recent calculations of the
height of the original plateau place it
| at fully 700 feet at the point where
| the deposits have been exposed, but
| it has been worn down until in many
places it is less than one hundred feet
( above the level of the bed of the Rio
| Puerco.
The process by which the mesa has
! thus been destroyed is similar to the
! erosion which is seen in such a vast
area of the Southwest. The material,
/ consisting of beds of clays and sand
| stone shales mixed with harder sand
| stone, is so susceptible to the action
| Of the water that eve J single rain
storm carries away an c-1rmous guam
| tity of it in solution
| 1t is easy to explain why the trees
have been severed into SO many frag-
ments. AS the shale or sandstone has
| been washed away beneath them, they
| have broken on account of their own
weight, but as already stated, the frac-
| lures have been made so evenly that
! it would seem as if the work had been
| done by the saw or axe. ..
1t is rather remarkable that nearly
all of the varieties of quartz into
which the wood has turned, breaks
across the grain more readily than
lengthwise. This fact is proved by
taking piece of the outside or the
| inside and shattering 1t.
The tendency to break transversely
! is so noticeable that pieces of logs two
feet in diameter can be seen in the
northern section of the deposit. which
are actually only three inches and
four inches in thickness. In fact ma
ture has cut them out SO nicely that
only the polishing wheel is needed to
finish them into tops for stands and
| tables as well as other articles for or