Jasper Forest in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. June 13, 2011
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Petrified wood falling to the valley floor from a bluff opposite the overlook at Jasper Forest. June 13, 2011.
Jasper Forest is a valley in the Petrified Forest National Park that was once covered with petrified wood. The petrified wood was encased in the bluffs that surround the valley, and when erosion removed the softer rocks, the petrified logs tumbled and accumulated on the valley floor.
Petrified wood at the base of a bluff in Jasper Forest. The forest gets it's name from the reddish-brown color of the petrified logs. June 13, 2011.
The valley was once filled with fallen logs, but commercial collectors plundered it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collectors would then sell the petrified wood as souvenirs. Outrage against the plundering of Jasper Forest helped lead to the establishment of Petrified Forest as a National Monument in 1906.
A partially exposed petrified log in Jasper Forest. It, too, may tumble to the valley floor in a few centuries. June 13, 2011.
Jasper Forest got it’s name from the opaque reddish-brown color of the petrified wood found in the valley.
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