Agate House in Petrified Forest National Park, AZ
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- Unknown
- Location
- Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2009. All Rights Reserved
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- Search LEARN NC for Agate House, Arizona, AZ, butte, fossils, mesa, national parks, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Petrified Forest National Park, petrified tree, petrified wood, Rainbow Forest, sandstone, trees, and wood.
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The Agate House in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Archeologists believe the original building was constructed almost ten centuries ago between A.D. 1050 and 1300. The ancient Puebloan people in the area used petrified wood sealed with mud mortar to build their houses. They also used the petrified wood to make tools such as knives and arrowheads. The pueblo’s eight rooms were partially reconstructed in the 1930s.
Petrified Forest National Park encompasses part of the Rainbow Forest and the Painted Desert. It consist of several “forests” of petrified wood. Around 200 million years ago, logs washed into a river and were buried quickly and deeply by sediment, which sealed them from oxygen and slowed their decay. Minerals replaced the log’s organic material and crystallized, forming amethyst, citrine, and smoky and clear quartz. The resulting logs are rainbow hues and glitter in the sun. Petrified Forest National Park is also home to many plant and animal fossils and is the site of much ongoing research.
