Polished Petrified Wood Slice
A beautifully polished petrified wood slice carefully chosen for our collection of rocks and minerals. The front of this slice is highly polished but it can't really be appreciated in our photo. The first photo is the front, the third is the back which is unpolished.
Petrified wood is a natural mineral formed through a process known as petrifaction. The word originates from Ancient Greek and literally means 'wood turned into stone'.
As trees in ancient forests died many fell into riverbeds or floodplains. Having been being buried under sediment or ash they were starved of oxygen which prevented decay from setting in.
Dissolved minerals being carried in groundwater then seeped into the organic matter filling any spaces. Once the water dried up the minerals left behind slowly crystallised as quartz.
Some petrified wood has been dated back two hundred million years.
It's sometimes believed the original wood turned into stone but that's not the case. As the organic matter eventually decayed it was replaced with natural minerals.
Some distinctive red colour can be seen on both sides of this petrified wood slice. The colour comes from impurities of hematite.
