Name/Title
Palm RootEntry/Object ID
05.58.159Description
Assemblage Zone: Sedimentary
Chemical Composition: Si O2
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Description: Family: Palmae
Genus: Palmoxyon
Common name: Palm (root)
Age: Miocene
Location data: Castle Butte, California
Formation: Bissil
Description: Thin slab with polished face. Entire face shows "plant bundles" of varying colors from white, brown, grey and black.
Type of Fossils Present: Plants
Fracture: conchoidal
Grain Size: Fine
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Luster: Glassy
Occurrence: Silicified wood, which is the fossilization and 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 related volcanic mudflow. The organic material in the wood is then replaced by silica (SiO2), other minerals determined its colors.
Pressure: Low-Moderate
Rock Color: Medium
Rock Origin: Post-depositional
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Specific Gravity: 2.6
Surface Process: Not apparent
Streak: white
Temperature: Low
Texture: Mircrocrystalline
Variety: Petrified woods here are hydrous microcrystalline variety of quartz that can be generally termed as chalcedony.Collection
Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition
Accession
05.58Source or Donor
Petrified Wood CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
Other Number: 05.58.159Dimensions
Width
3-1/2 inDepth
1/2 inLength
4-1/4 inDimension Notes
Dimension taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Display Case
PW-1Room
Petrified Wood RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
ExhibitMoved By
Jillian Mather KettleyDate
January 14, 2025Notes
Inventory/Locating
