Petrified Forest National Park

About Petrified Forest National Park

The petrified forest is part of Petrified Forest National Park, one of the largest national parks in the United States. The park is located in northeastern Arizona and has a total area of 1.5 million acres of petrified wood. It has more than 1,000 kilometers of hiking trails, over 3,200 kilometers of hiking trails and over 1 million feet of elevation difference.

The park's 93,533 acres include the Chinle Formation, known as the Painted Desert, one of the largest fossilized forest formations in the United States. The formation of chinese originated from millions of years of deposition, uplift and erosion. It contains the fossilized remains of more than 1.5 million hectares of forest vegetation. This rock formation produces a variety of different types of fossils, such as battlements, pines, pines and pueblos, as well as fossils of birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

Painted Desert is made of bentonite, a product of altered volcanic ash, and it was the elevation of the Colorado Plateau, which began about 60 million years ago, and the subsequent erosion that continues to this day, that characterize the landscape today. The clay mineral Bentite can be picked up from the ground, as well as rocks such as sand, gravel, sandstone and gravel. Petrified forests are located at altitudes between 5300 feet and 6235 feet in the Chinle Formation and have a total area of 1.5 million hectares.

The expansion and contraction of pentonite prevents a lot of vegetation from growing on the slopes of the hills. The other prominent feature that results from erosion is the tip of a table flask, and it has a tall, narrow hind leg with a long, slender tail and a short, flat tail. Mesas are quite wide, but not very high, as the hind legs are high and narrow and the front legs are wide.

In this picture you can see the flasks, which form on the left, and the pontoons on the right, as well as the tail and tail of the petrified forest dog.

The Bidahochi formation is more resistant to erosion than the Chinle formation, but at some point the hard rock breaks off and the soft clay stones underneath are exposed to the elements.

It then becomes a hilly, hilly, bentonite-like area that will eventually cause erosion.

Backpacking is possible in the Petrified Forest Wilderness, but permits must be obtained at least one hour before closing. There are no campsites or accommodations in the park; surrounding communities offer full-service accommodations. A free permit is required and can be purchased at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center or at one of the campsites.

Bicycles are only allowed on paved parking lots and paths, but not on the roads and on all roads.

Blue Mesa Loop Road offers cyclists the opportunity to get out of their vehicles and ride through the park. The ride - out is about 3.5 miles long and offers a view of the petrified wood that is eroding into the landscape, as well as a view of Blue Mesa Lake and the Great Basin.

Within the park there are three designated wilderness areas: the Blue Mesa Wilderness Area, the Red Rock Wilderness Area and the Green Mountain Wilderness. There are more than 3,000 acres of designated and designated wilderness in the park, which are declared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Park Service.

In general, wilderness is a place where human prints are minimal and artists like to see shapes and colors, but the concept is different for everyone. Backpackers expect adventure, lawmakers define adventure in legal terms, and artists like me like to see shape and color, so I'm a little confused about what adventures are expected from backpackers.

In 1964, Congress passed the Wilderness Act, which restricted grazing, mining, logging, and mechanized vehicles in the area.

The wilderness area is valued as an experience-oriented resource and protected by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The petrified forest wilderness area consists of more than 1,000 hectares of wildflowers, grassland, trees, shrubs and grassland. Access to the Painted Desert Wilderness is located near Kachina Point in the northern part of the park.

Wilderness Access Trailhead is located on the northwest side of the P & O Desert Inn.

The Painted Desert Inn is currently closed for a rehabilitation project, with the next service located at the P & O Desert Visitor Center complex. A path of about 1 km leads into the wilderness area, crosses the lithodendron and then leads through a series of paths to the entrance of the wilderness area.

Hikers must use the driveway on the northwest side of the building and park their car in the parking lot of the P & O Desert Visitor Center. Those wishing to stay within the Wilderness Area must obtain a free permit before closing the park, and the permit is issued by P & O Desert's Painted Desert Inn, not the Visitor Center.

The number of campsites is limited to 8 persons and a minimum stay is very important; all campsites are located within the wilderness area. Backpackers must hike to a designated zone to set up camp at least 3 miles from the entrance to the wilderness, but no more than 1 mile away.

Horses are allowed in the wild, but permits are required for day trips and the number of people in each area is limited. These include camping, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, rafting, canoeing and other recreational activities.

Petrified Forest National Park is best experienced on foot and enjoy, please visit the Horse Riding page for more information. Petrified forests are best enjoyed on foot and to experience, visit our website for information on horseback riding.

The length of the well-maintained trails ranges from less than a mile to almost three miles, but also left - marked trails can be dangerous for hikers due to the large number of trees and shrubs in the area. Hiking trails damage the sensitive grassland environment and disturb the habitat of the wildlife, creating unsightly social paths. Marked trails remain accessible to all hiking areas, even for those who do not have a marked trail.

Pets are not allowed in park buildings or wilderness areas and must be kept on a leash and allowed on well-maintained paths. If you want to hike in the wilderness, where there are no trails, visit the Backcountry page for more information.

Meeting point is the winter hall at the Rainbow Forest Museum and at 3.30 pm the main entrance of the park. Learn more about the history of the forest on this guided walk through the rainforest. Explore how a living tree turns into stone and learn more about its history in the Rainforest Museum's guide.

Discover the history of Pueble, which lived in Puerco about 700 years ago, and get to know the ranger - a guided walk. The trail is asphalted in some places, but not as steep as in other parts of the park, so meet at 3: 30 p.m. at the main entrance for a ranger tour of the rainforest.

Learn about the ever-changing Triassic landscape of Puerco and the history of Pueble - a guided walk. Meeting point is at 15.30 at the main entrance for a ranger tour through the rainforest, at 16.15 for another guided hike.

Meeting point is at 15.30 at the main entrance for a ranger tour through the rainforest, at 16.15 for another guided hike. Visit rock paintings carved on sandstone hundreds of years ago and meet at 2.30 pm for the first of two guided walks in the park.

Discover the landscape of the Triassic and meet at 2.30 pm at the main entrance to the first of two guided walks in the park.

At 2.30 p.m. at the main entrance of the park for the first of two guided walks through the park. And at 4 p.m. for the second guided hike and the third and final hike.

At 2.30 p.m. at the main entrance of the park for the first guided walk and the third and last walk.

Car - petrified forest at the main entrance of the park at 14.30 for the first guided hike and the third and last hike.

Visitors traveling west on Interstate 40 should drive through the park, connect to US Highway 180 at the southern end and get off at milestone 311. Visitors traveling east should head east to Holbrook, then west to Interstate 40 and then north to the north entrance of Petrified Forest National Park. From Holbrooke, exit Interstate 40 and head north on US Highway 180 into the Parks and continue south on US-180 until you turn onto I-40 and turn left onto Interstate 50.