PETRIFIED FOREST
The Petrified Forest Natural Monument in Argentina's Santa Cruz province is tucked away in a desolate lunar landscape just 50 km inland from the coast.
In the Jurassic period 150 million years ago this area enjoyed a humid, temperate climate, but intense volcanic activity leveled its flourishing forests and buried them in ash. Wind erosion later exposed the fossilized Proaraucaria trees (giant ancestors of today's unique araucaria), which grew up to 9 feet in diameter and over 300 feet in length. For years, foreign companies exploited and hauled off thousands of tons of this petrified wood. Fortunately enough is left so that today one can get a feel of prehistory from this starkly beautiful place on Earth.
Photographs © Walt Clayton III
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