17" Petrified Wood Round - Rich Red & Purple Colorations

Petrified Wood Round - Rich Red & Purple Colorations #51275

This is a large, richly colored slab of petrified Araucaria (extinct Conifer) wood from Ambilobe, Madagascar. It is 17 x 14" and both sides have been polished to a mirror like finish showing off the amazing mineralization of this fossil. This round has excellent, deep red and purple colorations, truly a top quality piece. It is from the early Triassic period, approximately 220 million years old, close to the time the first dinosaurs appeared on the planet.

What Is Petrified Wood

Petrified wood is the name given to wood that has been turned into stone (fossilized) through the process of permineralization. In this process, all of the organic matter becomes replaced by minerals, while much of the original structure, such as tree rings, is retained. For this to happen, the wood needs to be buried in an environment low in oxygen to prevent decomposition and with flowing, mineral-laden water, so minerals may replace structures. The coloration is caused by various minerals that present in that water during fossilization. For example, red colors are due to iron compounds, greens due to copper, and so on.