Name/Title
Petrified WoodEntry/Object ID
05.58.144Description
Assemblage Zone: sedimentary
Chemical Composition: Si O2
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Description: Family: Palmae
Genus: Palmoxylon
Common Name: Palm (root)
Age: Eocene
Location data: Austin, Texas
Description: Thick slice with polished face. One thick outer ring, beige and brown and some white. The inner area has black coloring in the upper region and the majority of the rest is grey to beige with a large spot of white and black in one area of the face.
Type of Fossils Present: Plants
Fracture: conchoidal
Grain Size: Fine
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Luster: Glassy
Occurrence: Silicified wood, which is the fossilization and/or opalization of organic woody matter by the deposition of SiO2 in a anaerobic environment to prevent decay. This means that the wood must somehow be buried in an oxygen free enviroment, possibly in the silt-laden river or the bottom of a lake or buried by volcanic ash or volcanic related mudflow. The organic material in the wood is then replaced by silica, other minerals determined the colors of the petrified wood.
Pressure: Moderate
Rock Color: Medium
Rock Origin: Post-depositional
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Specific Gravity: 2.6
Surface Process: Not apparent
Streak: white
Temperature: Low
Texture: microcrystalline
Variety: Petrified wood is hydrous microcrystalline variety of quartz that can be defined in general term of chalcedony or opalizationCollection
Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition
Accession
05.58Source or Donor
Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
Other Number: 05.58.144Dimensions
Width
14 inDepth
1/2 inLength
16-1/2 inDimension Notes
Dimension taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Display Case
PW-4Room
Petrified Wood RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
PermanentMoved By
Jillian Mather KettleyDate
January 29, 2025Notes
Added current location
