What Petrified Forest National Park is known for

The eastern side of the state of Arizona, along the border of New Mexico, is where the Petrified Forest National Park Destination is located. The counties of Navajo and Apache are the region where the namesake of the destination, Petrified National Park, can be found. Notably, Petrified Forest National Park received its name primarily on account of the petrified wood, fossils, and fallen trees in the region, some of which date back to the Late Triassic Epoch, about 225 million years ago. The park has since been visited by a generally high quantity of visitors each year due to the number of activities that are available within the forest.[1]

Petrified Forest National Park offers a variety of outdoor activities for tourists. Specific activities include bicycling; guided tours given by a ranger, volunteer, or cultural demonstrator; backpacking; hiking along trails that offer archeological sites, as well as petrified logs famous for the area; visiting exhibits; horseback riding; and geocaching. Some of the activities give people the opportunity to see the sunsets, night sky, and sunrises in the park that have been described as “colorful,” “incredible,” and “inspiring.”[2]

In the destination, there are various cities as well as reservations for Native Americans. One reservation in the region includes the Hopi Reservation, northwest of Petrified Forest National Park. As of the 2000 census, the area was reported to have a population of 6,946 people. The area is designated for the descendants of the original natives who inhabited the area. The Hopi have reported that they “consider life on the reservation (in particular the traditional clan residence, the spiritual life of the kivas on the mesa, and their dependence on corn) an integral and critically sustaining part of the ‘fourth world.’”[4]

Geography

Petrified Forest National Park stretches about 30 miles from north to south and has a width of about 12 miles in certain areas. The national park is located between Apache and Navajo counties. Another notable area in the destination includes the Navajo Nation, which borders the national park in the north and northeast.[1] The Navajo Nation is a “Native American reservation in the United States.” Only a portion of the Navajo Nation lies within the Petrified Forest National Park Destination; other areas that the Navajo Nation covers include parts of Utah and New Mexico, officially encompassing about 17,544,500 acres of land. Notably, the Navajo Nation is “the largest land area held by Native American tribes in the U.S., exceeding ten U.S. states.”[5]

If those traveling to the region wish to engage in warm weather activities, "the best time to visit" the Petrified Forest National Park Destination is from early June to mid-September, as temperatures are reasonably moderate throughout these months. During the hot season, specifically between the months of May to September, the average high temperature is around 83 degrees Fahrenheit. July, on average, is the hottest month of the year, while December is usually the coldest. The cold season is typically from November to February, producing an average daily high of 56 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of the year is relatively dry, and Petrified Forest National Park experiences minimal rainfall annually.[3]

Geographically, Petrified Forest National Park is known for fossils and fallen trees that lived during the “Late Triassic Epoch of the Mesozoic era.” The considerable amounts of petrified wood from the park are what led the site to gain its name.[1] Also found in the destination are different species of flora and fauna. Of all of the wildlife living in the region, ravens are reportedly the most common animals that can be encountered. Other wildlife in the park includes elk, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, badgers, striped skunks, black-tailed jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, coyotes, and bobcats.[7] As for the forest's flora, some of the species that have been observed are mesa tops, desert twins-pinon, juniper, pinon pines, yucca, and various types of grasses. Plants that are grown in the arid climate of Petrified Forest National Park are said to have “adaptations which enable them to survive the extremes of temperature and precipitation.”[8]

History

Evidence of early inhabitants in Petrified Forest National Park dates back about 12,000 years ago. Some of the earliest artifacts that have been found in the area include “Clovis and Folsom-type spear points made from petrified wood.” Evidence has suggested that other early inhabitants arrived later, about 8,000 years ago. Those who lived in the region built pit houses, grew corn, and constructed pueblos, which are houses built above ground. Eventually, the weather of the destination caused the early people to abandon the site. After they abandoned their dwellings, other settlers passed through the area, including Spanish explorers, and in more modern times, a U.S. team that was sent to survey the land.[1]

United States surveyors began the process of documenting fossil wood in the 1850s. After this, more people came to the land, including ranchers, pioneers, sightseers, and businesses, to collect fossil wood. It wasn’t until 1906 that President Theodore Roosevelt established that the region would become the Petrified Forest National Monument. Another notable event that took place in the forest involved the addition of over 53,000 acres of land from the Painted Desert in 1932. Later in 1962, the park was changed from a national monument to a national park.[6]