10.2" Petrified Wood Section With Algal Casts - Wyoming

This is a section of 50 million year old petrified wood from the famous "Blue Forest" in Eden Valley, Wyoming. It is surrounded by casts of algae. It was formed when trees died and fell into a swamp where they were rapidly covered by algae. This formed casts that preserved the original bark surfaces of the trees and kept them from decaying. Eventually the algae casts and the spaces between them were filled in by minerals, often in exquisite, crystalline form.

On side of the section is polished. It varies in thickness up to about 3" thick.