Why Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is located in Apache and Navajo counties in northeastern Arizona, roughly 26 miles east of Holbrook. Encompassing approximately 346 square miles, the park protects a semi-desert shrub steppe along with highly eroded, colorful badlands. First set aside as a national monument in 1906 and reclassified as a national park in 1962, the reserve is widely recognized for its extensive concentrations of petrified wood and the vast, vibrant expanses of the Painted Desert across its northern region.
With an average elevation of 5,400 feet, the terrain ranges from 5,340 feet along the Puerco River to 6,230 feet at Pilot Rock. The park spans about 30 miles from north to south, with its width fluctuating throughout its extent. Running east-west across the central area are Interstate 40, the Puerco River, the BNSF Railway line, and historic U.S. Route 66. The main north-south route, Park Road, connects Interstate 40 near park headquarters to U.S. Route 180 at the southern boundary. Southern areas feature gentle hills and major fossilized log deposits, whereas the northern section contains badlands, bluffs, and circular volcanic craters called maars visible from lookouts like Pintado Point.
The region's famous fossils reside primarily within the Chinle Formation, a sedimentary layer up to 800 feet thick composed of mudstone, claystone, sandstone, and bentonite clay. Roughly 225 million years ago in the Late Triassic Epoch, fallen trees—mostly the extinct conifer Araucarioxylon arizonicum—were buried by waterborne sediments and volcanic ash. Silica dissolved in groundwater infiltrated the logs to form quartz crystals, retaining external tree shapes and creating rich coloration from iron oxides. In addition to petrified trees, the Chinle Formation contains over 200 plant fossil taxa, including ferns and cycads, as well as fossilized remains of giant phytosaur reptiles, early dinosaurs, and large amphibians.
Human activity in the area dates back more than 12,000 years to Paleoindian groups who crafted tools from petrified wood. Later nomadic populations established seasonal camps to hunt game and gather wild seeds. Around 2,500 years ago, Ancestral Puebloans began farming corn, eventually building year-round subterranean pit structures and later masonry pueblos and communal great kivas. By 1450 CE, residents relocated to nearby Hopi and Zuni settlements. Today, the park preserves over 1,000 archeological sites containing structural ruins and petroglyphs.
Petrified Forest features a cold semi-arid climate with dry, windy conditions. High temperatures during summer reach around 100 °F, whereas winter lows dip well below freezing, with light snow possible between October and March. Rain falls mostly from July through September. Over 400 plant species grow here, dominated by grasses like bunchgrass and blue grama. Wildlife includes pronghorns, coyotes, bobcats, small rodents, reptiles, seven amphibian species, and more than 200 species of resident and migratory birds. Approximately 50,260 acres, or one third of the park, is protected as wilderness.
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