Petrified Forest of Patagonia

July 18, 2014

DSC_0589

Photographer: Pablo Biancotti
Summary Authors: Ayelen Fernandez; Jim Foster

The photo above shows part of the Florentino Ameghino Petrified Forest of Patagonia, Argentina. It was taken near Trelew in the Chubut Province of Argentina. This forest was preserved when it was buried in volcanic ash after the Andes Mountains were formed. Rainfall and stream runoff, laden with minerals, moved though the ash layers filling the decaying wood and exposed trunks -- replacing cellulose with silica. Eventually, the trees were fossilized. Some of the stone-like trees found here are more than 10 ft (3 m) in diameter. Photo taken in the summer of 2012.

Photo details: Camera Model: NIKON D5000; Lens: 18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6; Focal Length: 62mm (35mm equivalent: 93mm); Aperture: f/11.0; Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320); ISO equiv: 200; Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.1 (Windows).