Digging Out Petrified Wood Process

 Indonesia Petrified Wood   Indonesia has the largest deposit of petrified wood in the world, larger than Brazil, Arizona or even China. Indonesian Petrified Wood is from larch,Palm, Timber trees that turned to stone. 

 

The petrified wood is from trees approximately  million years old. Minerals present in the mud and water prior to and during the petrification process leached into the wood giving it color.

 Petrified wood is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals while retaining the original structure of the wood. The petrifaction process occurs underground,

when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen.

Mineral-rich water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells and as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay away, a stone mould forms in its place.

 Elements such as manganese, iron and copper in the water/mud during the petrification process give petrified wood a variety of color ranges.

Pure quartz crystals are colorless, but when contaminants are added to the process the crystals take on a yellow, red or other tint. Following is a list of minerals and related color hues:

 Copper - green/blue
Cobalt - green/blue
Chromium - green/blue
Manganese - pink
Carbon - black
Iron Oxides - red, brown, yellow
Manganese Oxides - black
Silica - white, grey