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Pepper tree (Schinoxylon actinoporosum)
Laney Shale Member, Green River Formation, Eocene Blue Forest, Wyoming ** Well, as we've said before, there is Blue Forest and then there is Blue Forest! We think this piece has real "presence" for display. It has a complete surrounding matrix of stromatolitic algae and even has some of the late stage mineralization of yellow calcite (not often seen because a lot of cutters soak the specimens in acid to remove it in hopes of finding more bubbly blue chalcedony). We have always liked the yellow contrast to the blue and brown coloration. 6" x 4.25"on polished face; 5/16" thick slab $45 |
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Oak (Quercus sp.)
Columbia Plateau Basalts Group, Miocene Deschutes Canyon, Oregon ** A VERY UNUSUAL DOUBLE HEART slab of oak from this legendary locality. This double heart is a "crotch" where the two branches are equal in size and age. The Deschutes Canyon site was on top of the canyon walls about four miles upstream of the confluence of the Deschutes River and the Columbia River. In recent years, the ranchers who own the land on the sides of the canyon walls have closed their property to collecting. As a consequence, this especially nice material has now become much more difficult to obtain. This particular specimen came out of the inventory of a cutter who lived just a few miles from the collecting site. He would cut very thin slices off of logs in order to make coffee tables (the slabs would be placed on a circular jig and covered with clear resin). He passed away many years ago but some of his thin slabs that were not used in coffee tables can still be found. It is likely that most of the resin in the coffee tables has become discolored over the past 40 years and even more likely the tables have been discarded! This is a thin slab, but it is entirely stable with fiberglass backing. Click photo for a closer view ... and then don't let this one get away! 7" x 6" on polished face; 1/8" thick slab $119 |
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Unidentified Beauty
Little Butte Formation, Mehama volcanics unit, Oligocene McQueen Ranch, Sweet Home area, Linn County, Oregon ** One of the most curious and beautiful growth ring and leaching patterns we've seen in petrified wood. The McQueen Ranch has not produced petrified wood for quite a long time, but a recent logging operation and the attendant soil disruption has produced some really nice specimens and we think we got some of the best from the logs that were found! The ranch is directly across the road from the famed Holleywood Ranch which has consistently produced enormous amounts of petrified wood, but the two neighboring sites could not be more different in mineralization. While the Holleywood site has produced mainly tan to rust-colored specimens, the material found recently at the McQueen is black and/or brown with incredibly handsome agate patterning. When the logging operation is complete and the trees begin to regrow, there won't be any more petrified wood discovered for a considerable period of time. So, if you are drawn to the striking patterns produced by this lovely material, we suggest you acquire a specimen or two for your own collection before it is all gone - we did! Not enough woody fine structure to enable taxonomic identification for this piece but sometimes -- just sometimes -- the pattern has got to be the thing. That's true for us. 8" x 6" on polished face; 3/8" thick $125 |
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Board cut (Incertae sedis)
Bridger Formation, Eocene Eden Valley, Wyoming ** Here's a really handsome board-cut specimen of petrified wood from the storied Eden Valley locality. The wood grain really stands out on this specimen and the weathered ends of the board give it additional fascinating character. If you are looking for an attractive addition to your Green River/Bridger formations collection - here it is! 7.76" x 3" on polished face; 1/4" thick slab $35 |
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Primitive conifer (Araucarioxylon)
Chinle Formation, Triassic Egg Canyon, Garfield County, Utah ** You can tell immediately that Egg Canyon is in the Circle Cliffs area of Garfield County. The petrified wood is distinctive for that red periphery and the black and gray alternating bands of the main log. The white agate accents add an even more aesthetic pattern. That’s why we love this slab - it has exceptional presence that will make your other southern Utah specimens envious if they have to share their space with it in your display case! The Araucariaceae Family dominated the Mesozoic Forests. In the case of the Chinle Formation, the forest was located in the subtropical latitudes with a mild climate and year ‘round precipitation. That is the reason you see so few specimens with annual growth rings. Like the tropical and subtropical species today, those giant trees just kept growing and did not stop to rest (and thereby develop a growth ring). In the 220 million years that have passed since this tree was alive and well, the entire North American continent, including all of the Chinle Formation has migrated well north through the process now known as plate tectonics. It is wonderful to have a good story to go along with an aesthetic specimen! AND ... this one is cut thick - the old fashioned way! 7.5” x 5” on polished face; 1” thick slab $94 |
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Undetermined dicot angiosperm wood (Incertae sedis)
Little Butte Formation, Mehama volcanics unit, Oligocene McQueen Ranch, Sweet Home area, Linn County, Oregon ** If you are a frequent follower of our website specimens, you know that we generally prefer to offer specimens with an identified taxonomic affinity (whether it is species, genus or family). But like a lot of other factors in life, there are sometimes exceptions and this is one of them. The Linn County Petrified Forest has produced a multitude of different genera and a plethora of different mineralizations. Occasionally we see Sweet Home specimens with incredible agate fortifications and this one really has what we call "punch." The "watercolor" blue agate morphs into white on the bottom and gold on the top. The blue color has the same geologic origin as the famous "Holley Blue" agate named after the village of Holley which is near the old McQueen Ranch property. The limb from which this specimen was cut was uncovered during a logging project on the ranch recently. 4" x 3.5" diameter on polished face; 5/16" thick slab $38 |
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Tanoak (Lithocarpus sp.)
Mehama Volcanics Unit, Little Butte Formation, Oligocene Sweet Home area, Linn County, Oregon ** Wow, what a beauty, and one of the better-preserved slices of Tanoak that we have seen from the Sweet Home petrified forest. The perfect preservation is best seen microscopically in the tan areas of the slab. We particularly like the blue agate filling in some of the dessicaton cracks and cavities. The cracks were already present in the wood prior to petrification and later provided passageways for the groundwater to enter the log. Be sure to check closely our photomicrograph of the outstanding woody fine structure. The blue fortification agate filling some of the cavities in the old log gives this slab real aesthetic appeal. 9” x 7.5” on polished face; 5/8” thick slab $95 |