The conscience files

The Petrified Forest National Park is located in Arizona, USA, and is named for its vast deposits of petrified wood.

This wood formed from conifer trees that lived there approximately 225 million years ago, during the Late Triassic period.

Petrified wood occurs when organic material is replaced by minerals over millions of years, turning the wood into stone while preserving its original structure.

The park attracts over 500,000 visitors annually, making it a popular destination for nature enthusiasts.

The National Park Service, which manages the park, encourages visitors to follow the principle of ‘take only photographs, leave only footprints,’ meaning they should not remove any natural items from the park.