We continue along Route 3 towards the south and detour a few kilometers towards Provincial Route 49 to see this incredible Petrified Forest. To get to this National Park, we traveled 50 kilometers of gravel.
In this area 150 million years ago, in the Jurassic period, the area that this park occupies today had a mild and humid climate that allowed a forest of gigantic trees to develop. Then, at the beginning of the Cretaceous period, volcanic eruptions that coincided with the rise of the Andes Mountains buried a large part of the territory with ash and lava, giving rise to the MILLENNIAL process of Petrification. By being completely buried by ash and leaving without oxygen the surfaces of these trees which in some cases reached 100 meters high, it slowed down the natural process of wood decomposition.
Over time, the water rich in minerals such as silicon, impregnated the woods and replaced the organic matter that composed them while preserving the shape, with an astonishing level of detail. In this way the trees that formed this forest were transformed into stones or rather fossils. The erosion of the wind over time uncovered these fossils that today we see on the surface as if someone had placed them there!!
The territory that the park occupies is immense and park rangers and archaeologists still continue to explore it and make new discoveries. Just like many of these fossils are now exposed, there are many more that are still buried, there is much left to discover!
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Негізгі бет Jurassic Forest PETRIFIED Millions of Years Ago! - [E12]
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