Petrified Forest National Park- General Park Information

With one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, multi-hued badlands of the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites, and displays of 225 million year old fossils, this is a surprising land of scenic wonders and fascinating science.

Petrified Forest National Park has one of the best geologic and fossil records of the Late Triassic in the world. Learn about fossils from petrified wood to dinosaurs, review a list of published scientific papers, see what current research in the park has revealed, and more!

Fossils are clues to the past, allowing researchers to reconstruct ancient animals and plants. Together with the surrounding rocks, fossils tell the stories of ancient ecosystems.

Petrified Forest has plant and animal fossils representing the Late Triassic, going back over 200 million years. The Triassic Period is sometimes referred to as the "Dawn of the Dinosaurs" because it is the time before the Jurassic Period when dinosaurs ruled the earth.

Fossils can be big - some petrified logs found in the park measure over 190 feet - or small - a single tooth less than an inch long may contain the definitive characteristic of a new species.

As part of the Petrified Forest National Park Science and Education Center, a monthly lecture series is held on the first Wednesday of each month. Topics include paleontology, geology, archeology, and others. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.

Petrified Forest National Park has variable weather throughout the year. Summers are hot with thunderstorms from July through September. With an elevation of over 5,000 feet, winters can be quite cold and snow is a possibility. Spring and fall can be hot or cold with rapidly changing conditions during the day. Always be prepared!