Arizona

Arizona ||
 * Arizona: //Araucarioxylon arizonicum//
 * Description//: Araucarioxylon arizonicum// is the name for a type of petrified wood found in Arizona. It is made up of almost sold crystal that makes a variety of colors when under the sun. The rings in the tree each have a specific color making the wood as if it is a crystallized rainbow. The colors are made by the impurities in the quartz such as iron or carbon. Its size is around the diameter of a typical tree. It is very hard, as much as steel is but it’s also very brittle.
 * || [[image:http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-arizona/PetrifiedWood.jpg width="400" height="299" align="left"]]
 * || [[image:http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-arizona/PetrifiedWood.jpg width="400" height="299" align="left"]]


 * Time Existed: //Araucarioxylon arizonicum// existed from about 250-200 million years ago during the Triassic period. Arizona during that time was a semi-tropical forest with swamps and slow moving streams. Fish, clams, and reptiles lived all around the environment. The area in which these fossils existed, towering forests dominated the skies. The average tree stood at 60 meters. South of the forest was the Mogollon Highland which was a range of mountains from which the streams came from.
 * Preservation: The tree fell due to natural reasons and it washed up into an ancient river system. It was buried quickly by sediment and debris. Oxygen was cut off allowing the tree to decay at a rate that would take centuries. Minerals including ash from nearby volcanoes absorbed into the wood over time. The minerals would then crystallize into the trunks we see today. The crystals include quartz, amethyst and citrine.
 * Who found it/Why it’s a state fossil: The earliest record of finding this fossil was a tribe of Paleo-Indians from about 8000 years ago. They used the fossil to make spear points for hunting. In 1988 the Petrified Wood became Arizona’s official state fossil due to its uniqueness.

Sources
 * 1) // National park service // . (16 A). Retrieved from []
 * 2) // State symbols USA // . (n.d.). Retrieved from []
 * 3) // DesertUSA // . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/jan/papr/rock.htm