Name/Title
Snake WoodEntry/Object ID
05.58.81Description
Assemblage Zone: quartz sandstone
Chemical Composition: Si O2
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Description: Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Mennegoxylon
Species: Colubrina
Common Name: Snake wood
Age: Eocene
Location data: Yegua Formation in Texas, USA
Description:: Polished face colored orange white and brown with visible growth ring and rays
Type of Fossils Present: Plants
Fracture: conchoidal
Grain Size: Fine
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Lithofacies: Delta complex
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: 2005.58.81Dimensions
Width
7-3/4 inDepth
3/4 inLength
10-1/4 inDimension Notes
Dimension taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Display Case
PW-8Room
Petrified Wood RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
ExhibitDate
May 22, 2025Notes
Location update
