The preservation process began during occasional flooding, when some of the trees were buried by a great depth of water and sediment quickly enough to prevent aerobic decay. Over a long period, water containing dissolved minerals seeped into the wood and replaced the organic cells with stone. Much later, the whole area was uplifted and eroded to give the landscape seen today.
Colors
The usual color of petrified wood is red, with yellow, black and white bands although other shades such as blue are often found. The stone has a high silica content, and is generally similar to agate in composition and appearance. Only the trunks of trees seem to be preserved but these may be almost complete, up to 30 feet in length and 6 feet thick at the base although they tend to be broken up into sections. The wood may be collected over a large area of east-central Arizona, but outside of the National Park, most of the best sites are privately owned. Petrified wood may be also found in Utah, in various locations around the Escalante River, and in the Coyote Buttes region near the Paria River. Sometimes the wood is much less colorful - for example, the specimens that occur in the Bisti Wilderness in New Mexico - but just as interesting.
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