PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK

BY JO JEFFERS PETRIFIED FOREST

Foreigners often ask, "America is so big. What should I do and where should I go in my limited time?" My answer is, "Go to our national parks and monuments, where you can see our greatest heritage."

They come . . . people from all over the world . . . women in bright, flowing saris . . . men in turbans, caps, derbies, tyrol hats. They come from their sooty cities, or neat suburbs, or farms, or villages, or great estates. What they confront in the Petrified Forest National Park are time and space and harsh beauty. Some confront it uneasily. The 94,189 acres is part of the Painted Desert, a region of pale-tinted buttes and mesas rising up out of the desert in moonscape formations. The Spaniards named it Desierto Pintado. Colors change with the slant of the sunlight, the shifting of clouds, and the change of seasons. Hal Borland, editor of a collection of essays about man and nature called Our Natural World says, "The desert waits . . . All who live in the desert partake of its own dimension which is patience. Time lags, and this is still a land awaiting completion, not by man, but by time itself." Strewn over the face of the desert are the remains of a great forest which began 200 million years ago.

The naturalist, George Bird Grinnel, wrote of the Indian: "Like the wild bird and the beast, like the cloud and the forest tree, the primitive savage is a part of nature. He is in it and of it. He studies it all through his life." We in America are beginning to realize that if we are to fulfill our obligations and responsibilities to ourselves and to the world, we must become a part of the land, caring about its future and sharing its wealth of resources and beauty.

The country is high, wide, and lonesome. Few people today are able to stretch their senses to the whole West. The Indians and cowboys knew the West, from Canada to Northern Mexico. They knew it instinctively, as the wild birds and migra-tory animals know it. Political boundaries did not confine them. Their landmarks were the plains, mountains, and deserts. By exploring our national parks, a man can still sharpen his senses, extend his vision, and develop his wholeness.

In the Southwest, the hiker needs water and protection against the sun and wind. The desert is alive and vital if you discover it. Hawks, golden eagles, owls, ravens, and small birds soar in the mile-high, piercing-clean air. Coyotes, foxes, weasels, bobcats, badgers, porcupines, skunks, rabbits, and prairie dogs make it their home. Herds of pronghorn antelope graze on the range. Since 1963, no cattle or sheep permits have been issued in the Petrified Forest. Now the wild grass hay is coming back, thick and tall, where once it had been choked out by rabbitbrush, cactus, snakeweed and other useless vegetation. In May and June wildflowers bloom cliffrose, paintbrush, daisies, globemallow, mariposa, chimaya, prickly pear, yucca, ground-sel, and evening primrose.

In 1966, over 850,000 tourists saw the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. The average visitor spent about two hours driving the twenty-seven miles across the park. He stopped in three or four places to get out of his car. He rarely took time to explore, use the trails, talk to the rangers, or study the exhibits. More, much more, can be seen and felt and learned than through the windshield of an automobile. Last year one couple spent five days hiking and exploring, thereby sending the waning morale of park rangers soaring.

a geological biography of this remarkable planet, EARTH

The National Park Service is the steward of more than 200 areas of unusual national interest, from historic houses to great tracts of wilderness. For seven dollars, a Federal Recreation Area Entrance Permit, called a "Golden Passport," may be purchased at any national park, entitling the bearer to enjoy all the fee-collecting recreation areas of the federal government for one year, from April 1st to April 1st. The purpose of the Park Service, in their prosaic terms, is "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Master Plans for future improvements exist for every national park in the United States. No specific completion dates are set. The superintendent, naturalist, rangers, and staff make suggestions as they are needed. As stated in the Master Plan,

WHAT KINDS OF TREES WERE THEY? HOW CAN WOOD TURN TO STONE?

The purpose of the Petrified Forest is “to preserve and interpret an outstanding deposit of petrified wood, Indian ruins, and petroglyphs, and a section of the Painted Desert.”The Master Plan includes ideas for improvement and protection of the land, its geological, archaeological, and historic features. Fences are checked regularly. Gates are locked at night. Road patrols are on duty to prevent the removal of irreplaceable objects. Wildlife is protected by law. The vegetative cover is being restored. Two thousand acres have been reseeded. Gully control and river bank stabilization practices are helping to prevent erosion. Mobile units with radio systems and first aid supplies patrol the park constantly. At the visitor center, information leaflets, talks, and exhibits are available. Although no motels or campsites exist in the park, Holbrook is only twenty-six miles west of the Painted Desert entrance and eighteen miles north of the Rainbow Forest entrance. Holbrook has good restaurants, service stations, and over 1500 beds in modern motels. West-bound visitors enter at the south end of the park. Admission to the park is free for holders of the Golden Passports and their family, but a one day permit for a carload is also available. Near each entrance is a picnic area with ramadas, tables, benches, water hydrants, and rest rooms. The Painted Desert Oasis, a Fred Harvey restaurant, and the Rainbow Forest Lodge sell lunches, sandwiches, salads, and curios.

Near the south gate of the Petrified Forest is a museum with exhibits, samples of polished wood, dioramas, drawings, and pamphlets.

During the Triassic Period, about 200 million years ago, give or take a few million, much of Northern Arizona was a vast flood plain, with lakes and swamps and numerous streams flowing through it. Along the water courses and on the shores of the lakes and swamps grew the trees which were to become the petrified logs of today. Scientists call the trees Schilderia, Woodworthia, and Aracucarioxylon, the latter two being related to the present day pines. Most of the trees rotted where they fell, but some were buried in mud, sand, and volcanic ash carried by streams from the mountains far to the south.

Great reptiles roamed the swamps heavy, flat, slowmoving stegocephalians dicynodonts, with their queer, beaked skulls... phytosaurs which looked like crocodiles but weren't. Palm-like trees, cycads, rushes, and ferns, crowded the marshy land. Snails, clams, and lungfish lived in the muddy water. Unknown creatures left tracks in the soft, wet mud. Small, primitive dinosaurs fought for survival, evolving into the giants that later ruled the earth. They hatched and ate and grew and died for millions of years. We know about them from the fossils they left.

Gradually, this swampy basin began to sink. Shallow seas formed over it. Then the land began to rise. During these millions of years, the logs were covered by thousands of feet of sediment, which became rock under greater and greater pressure. Most of the logs were buried in the Chiple formation, a clay-like material formed of volcanic ash. Water laden with volcanic ash seeped down into the buried logs, impregnating them with the silica which was in the water. Silica, through the growth of microscopic quartz crystals (silicon dioxide), filled the water and air spaces in the logs.

Petrified logs containing almost pure silica are white, or light tan or grey. Iron oxide stains them yellow, orange, rust, and red. Manganese oxide is blue, black, or purple. Deposits of black manganese oxide appear in picture-like designs which some people mistake for the imprint of leaves or ferns. Charcoallike wood gives us evidence of ancient forest fires. Wood borers left tiny holes in some specimens. Some of the logs partially rotted before they were petrified.

During the last seventy million years, in the Teritiary Period, the whole area rose thousands of feet above the level of the ancient seas. The Rockies and Sierras thrust upward in a great period of uplifting, changing the climate of the basin between them to semi-arid conditions. A new process of erosion began. More recent layers of rock were worn away by wind and water, creating the badlands we now see, and exposing one of the largest deposits of petrified wood in the world. Only a small part of the Perrified Forest is now exposed. Logs are buried beneath the ground to a depth of 300 feet. The chances of any one log petrifying are unknown, but only an infinitesimal number of trees from the great ancient forests petrified.

After the museum and Rainbow Forest, your next stop could easily be Agate House. It is a one-story structure, partially restored, built of agatized wood by prehistoric Indians. No close water supply exists today. The ruin is isolated. Probably, it was used as an overnight stop by travelling Indians, the same way motels are used today.

A few miles up the road are the Flattops, large buttes 5,700 feet high. They are remnants of a once continuous layer of durable sandstone, which shielded the bottom layers from erosion. Doctor Fred Wendorf excavated a prehistoric village built on top of the farther butte. The village is a one mile walk from the road and a steep climb to the top. The Flattops area is one of more than 300 important archaeological sites within the Petrified Forest.

The village consisted of 100 to 150 slab-lined, individual, circular pit houses. The people practiced sand-dune farming, using a layer of sand for a moisture-holding mulch. Tools, ornaments, and some of the houses were made from petrified wood. Evidently, the population came in summer and left in winter, as no hearths were found. Basketmaker, Anasazi, and Pueblo peoples lived here and drifted away. The Petrified Forest lies in an area where two or more cultures had a frontier. Pottery shards from several cultures were found, suggesting that the people intermarried, traded, and probably warred. Only a few people take the time and effort to climb the Flattops. In addition to the ruins, the view from the top is spectacular.The next overlook you come to is the Crystal Forest. To the left of the road is the "Battleship" formation, a tall escarpment with petrified logs protruding from its sides. Filling the cracks and hollows of many logs in this area are sparkling minerals. amethyst, citrine, and smoky quartz. The Span iards, seeking precious metals and gems, probably passed over the area without once suspecting the wealth that lay hidden within the stone logs. Coronado, Tovar, and Cardeñas all crossed the region without mentioning the strange and wonderful fallen forest.

petrifled wood. is HARD HEAVY

Educational exhibits and dioramas are a treasure of visual information

MAN COMES TO THE FOREST

The new VISITOR CENTER includes a museum of fossil flora and fauna of ages past

WILDLIFE in the badlands OLD FAITHFUL

The first written record of the Petrified Forest was in Captain Lorenzo Sitgreaves' journal in 1851, on his way through the "Great American Desert." Tired, saddle-sore, hungry, and thirsty, he described the country with distaste.In 1853, Lt. Whipple mentioned both the ruins and the wood in his journal. "Near camp," he said, "are found the ruins of stone houses and fragments of painted pottery. Quite a forest of petrified trees was discovered today, prostrate and partly buried in deposits of red marl. They are converted into beautiful specimens of variegated jasper. One trunk measured ten feet in diameter and more than 100 feet in length."

After the Crystal Forest, your next stop is Jasper Forest. Masses of big logs lie on the valley floor and protrude from the layer just below the rim. In the 1890's, people came from surrounding areas with wagons and buckboards to carry off invaluable loads of wood from this area. Logs were dynamited to extract quartz and amethyst crystals.

By the 1890's, the Petrified Forest had become a popular Sunday-outing place for residents of Holbrook and Winslow. Lively young couples of Holbrook, with the inspiration of Sheriff Wattron, had formed the Holbrook Anti-Petrification Society. The purpose of the Society was to combat boredom by holding dances, card parties, picnics, and tours in the hope of remaining less solid and sedentary than the wood of the forest.

Conscientious citizens of the Territory had begun to realize that the forest was in danger of complete destruction. In the late 1890's, prominent men of Holbrook, including Sheriff Wattron, Judge Zuck, and Will C. Barnes, fought with editorials and politics to preserve the forest.

At that time, the concept of conquering nature was more familiar to most Americans than that of preserving it. But the pleas were heard in Washington. A citizen's petition was sent to Congress. Professor Ward of the Geologic Survey was sent to make an investigation. In 1906, by authority of the Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities which was passed earlier that year, President Theodore Roosevelt, a strong conservationist, proclaimed the area a national monument. That was six years before Arizona became a state. Petrified Forest gained National Park status in 1962.

EAGLES' NEST ROCK this famous landmark collapsed in the early 30's. The Indians tell that for as long as their ancestors can remember eagles used the top of the rock for nesting families. However, the birds must have had a fateful premonition, as they did not return at the usual time preceding the fall of the formation.

North of the Jasper Forest is Agate Bridge, a solid, 100-foot long petrified log extending across a 40-foot wide wash. Concrete pilings were built before 1911 to preserve the bridge. The hard, slippery agate is not easily crossed, but a cowboy is liable to try almost anything once. In 1886, a Hashknife cowboy named Tom Paine attempted to ride his horse across the petrified log for a $10.00 wager. He won. No doubt he blew his money later in Holbrook's Bucket of Blood Saloon.

At Blue Mesa you will see how petrified logs play a part in the formation of the landscape. Soft earth around the logs has eroded, leaving the logs on pedestal-like formations.

Newspaper Rock is a flat-faced, upright sandstone slab covered with petroglyphs. Many theories have been advanced about the origin and meaning of petroglyphs, which are found all over the world. No one knows what people carved them into the sandstone. I have heard the theory that they were no more than idle news, gossip, or scribbling. Too often people underestimate the intellect and capacities of ancient cultures, who knew the country as few people today can comprehend it. The designs may be accurate descriptions of the area. I have known Indians who claim that they can read the petroglyphs. Mountain lions, bobcats, antelope, deer, eagles, rabbits, coyotes, are pictured. The sun, moon, constellations, and religious symbols appear. The art work of the ancients is long lasting.

a huge sandstone inscribed with hundreds of primitive symbols NEWSPAPER ROCK

The perpetual motion of erosion destroys old forms and creates the beginnings of new shapes On a mesa above the Rio Puerco about a mile from Newspaper Rock is Puerco Indian Ruin. It was occupied intermittently from about 600 A.D. to 1400 A.D. At the end of the 13th century a prolonged drought affected the whole Southwest. Cliff dwellers and other Pueblo people began a great exodus away from their homes to the only permanent water supplies remaining, the Puerco and Little Colorado Rivers. People crowded into the existing settlements and added more rooms to them. Puerco Ruin consists of slab-lined rooms built around a central plaza. In the plaza are two kivas or ceremonial chambers. No doors or windows were built in the outside walls, but the fortress-like walls were not adequate protection against their new enemies. About 550 years ago the people began to move away gradually, in small groups, taking their possessions with them. For protection, they probably joined other larger groups of Pueblos... the Zuñis, Hopis, and Acomas, who live in the region now. Their enemies were marauding bands of Athabascans who had moved into the Southwest. They stole crops and took prisoners from the peaceful Pueblo farmers. By 1600, these raiders had divided into two strong tribes, Navajos and Apaches, who were feared and hated by the Pueblo Indians and Spaniards.

Across the Rio Puerco and to the south is the almost ghost town of Adamana. It was named after Adam Hanna, an easterner who, according to the Holbrook paper, "took up

ranching and made a neat fortune.

The town was established about 1890 by the Santa Fe as a stop where all trains took on coal and water, and where passengers were fed. From Adamana, the first tours of the forest originated. Geologists, anthropologists, prospectors, and government agents toured the unprotected forest on foot and horseback.

In 1912, Chester Campbell bought the Forest Hotel at Adamana from Al Stephenson. He took his new bride, a gentle Denver school teacher named Grace, to live in the five room, one-story, waterless hotel in the middle of the big, wind-swept country. After waging war against a host of bedbugs that had been formerly tolerated, they set up business. For six years Chester was inn-keeper, chief cook and bottle washer, postmaster, Indian trader, and guide. He was also custodian of the national monument for the salary of $1.00 per year. The Santa Fe put out brochures and the first flood of Eastern tourists began to arrive. For $5.00 a couple, they could tour the Painted Desert or Petrified Forest in a spring wagon or buggy. Mr. Campbell built the first road from Adamana into the forest and maintained it to good standards.

In those days, Grace Campbell and her friend, Fay Jensen, would ride horseback for pleasure in the evenings, sometimes bringing in dogie calves that they found bawling on the open range. They would feed the dogies from a bottle until they were strong enough to fend for themselves, then turn them loose again on the range to follow a bunch of mother cows. At one time they considered the prospect of raising dogies and becoming Cattle Queens of Arizona, but their husbands discouraged the business, explaining that even dogies belonged to someone.

Cowboys came from all the neighboring ranches to the dances at the Adamana schoolhouse. Someone was always available to play the piano, fiddle, or guitar. Sometimes everyone would hop a west-bound cattle train to Holbrook, and ride the caboose to a dance there. At the hotel at Adamana, well-bred Eastern ladies gawked in admiration mixed with terror as tall, lanky cowboys walked into the dining room, spurs ringing, hats tipped back. Periodically, the cowpunchers would hit the trail to the bars and gambling rooms of Gallup, go on a "high and lonesome" and wire Mr. Campbell for money when they sobered up.

The Campbell's "carry-all" was a surrey with four seats. Later, in spite of the admonitions of local cowboys, they covered the same route in a Model T Ford. Passengers were not only guided, but well entertained by an employee named Gulliver Martin. Like the original Gulliver, he had travelled extensively and he enjoyed telling tall tales of his adventurous life, real or imagined. When ladies asked him about the lovely white flowers which opened on summer evenings, he explained that they were "Arizona Evening Glories." Gulliver talked and chewed, siding with everyone according to a man's particular prejudices. On one occasion, he began discussing politics with a finely-dressed Eastern couple. For no special reason, Gulliver exclaimed, "What this country needs is another Grover Cleve-land!" The tourist jumped up, pumped Gulliver's hand, presented him with a $5.00 tip, and stated proudly, "Why, Grover Cleveland was my wife's first husband."

One of the cowboys was Harv Smithson. He was courting a girl who worked for the Campbells and who later became his wife. In true cowboy tradition, he tried to give the tourists their money's worth. Whenever "dudes" were present, Harv would order a cup of coffee, then reach into his boot, pull out a six-shooter and stir the sugar into his coffee with the barrel.

At the turn of the century, Sheriff Frank Wattron dubbed the cowboys and ranchers of the area the "Puerco Boys." They included some of the best cowboys who ever rode. Their names were Frank Wallace, Pete Pemberton, John and Dan Divelbess, Jim Donahue, Dick Grigsby, and Reg Morgason. They knew Northern Arizona like the backs of their rough-knuckled hands. They appreciated her raw beauty, her stormy tantrums, and her stirrup-high grass.

Notes for Photographers: A Camera Tour Of Petrified Forest Is An Adventure Into Many Ages Past OPPOSITE PAGE

"POLISHED PETRIFIED LOG" BY JOSEF MUENCH. This highly polished piece of petrified wood was taken (with permission from the superintendent) from the display at the Rainbow Forest Museum, Petrified Forest National Park, to be photographed outside under natural light, to bring out its true colors. Perhaps 150 million years old and petrified to semiprecious stone, then highly polished, the texture brings out the beauty of Nature's most glamorous handiwork. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.22 at 1/5th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; May.

"IN THE JASPER FOREST" BY WAYNE DAVIS. Photo taken in the Jasper Forest section of Petrified Forest National Park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.22 at 1/50th sec.; 150mm Symmar lens; June; mid-morning, slight side light.

"PETRIFIED FOREST WHERE TIME STANDS STILL" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Another view of the Jasper Forest in Petrified Forest National Park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.30 at 1/25th sec.; 90mm Angulon lens; May; bright sunlight; Weston Meter 350; ASA rating 64.

"IN THE RAINBOW FOREST" BY JOSEF MUENCH. This scene was photographed in the Rainbow Forest section near the southern entrance of Petrified Forest National Park. Great slabs of semiprecious stone, "cut" by nature in her unending processes, are spread on a slope of colorful bentonitic clay hills. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.24 at 1/10th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; May.

"NATURAL BRIDGE PETRIFIED FOREST" BY JOSEF MUENCH. This photo of a natural bridge of petrified wood was taken on the Blue Mesa in Petrified Forest National Park. This log, broken and crumbling by the forces of erosion which carry away the soft bentonitic clay beneath it, was a living tree about 150 million years ago. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.26 at 1/10th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; May.

"IN THE CRYSTAL FOREST" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Photo taken in the Crystal Forest in Petrified Forest National Park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.30 at 1/25th sec.; 150mm Symmar lens; May; bright sunlight; Weston Meter 350; ASA rating 64.

"AGATE HOUSE IN PETRIFIED FOREST" BY WAYNE DAVIS. Photo shows the Agate House in Petrified Forest National Park. This one-story structure, now partly restored, was built of agatized wood by prehistoric Indians. More than 300 important archaeological sites are found in the park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.22 at 1/25th sec.; 150mm Symmar lens; January; slight overcast.

"THE ERODED LAND PETRIFIED FOREST" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Photo taken on Blue Mesa in Petrified Forest National Park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.24 at 1/25th sec.; 127mm Ektar lens; June; slight haze; Weston Meter 300; ASA rating 50.

"OLD LOGS AND NEW GRASS PETRIFIED FOREST" BY WAYNE DAVIS. Last summer the Petrified Forest received more than normal rainfall. Late summer rains produced a growth of new grass. As the Petrified Forest is located in an arid region, the growth of grass is not very common. Depending on the rain, this may last from thirty up to seventy days in a good year when the rain is plentiful. Since 1963 no grazing permits have been issued in the park, so now the grass is coming back. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/25th sec.; 150mm Symmar lens; August; late afternoon; ASA rating 64.

"THE FALLEN GIANT PETRIFIED FOREST" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Photo taken in Crystal Forest, Petrified Forest National Park, and shows a petrified tree that once was a growing, living giant. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.32 at 1/25th sec.; 150mm Symmar lens; May; bright sunlight; Weston Meter 400; ASA rating 64.

"LANDSCAPE OF SHIMMERING COLOR PETRIFIED FOREST" BY WAYNE DAVIS. Photo taken in Blue Mesa, Petrified Forest National Park. Views such as this one reveal the shimmering color of the landscape. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.22 at 1/25th sec.; 90 mm Angulon lens; August; late afternoon, strong side light.

"VIEW FROM BLUE MESA PETRIFIED FOREST" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Photo taken from Blue Mesa looking northeast, Petrified Forest National Park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.30 at 1/25th sec.; 127mm Ektar lens; June; bright sunlight; Weston Meter 400; ASA rating 50.

"VIEW FROM NEAR CHINDE POINT PETRIFIED FOREST" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Photo taken near Chinde Point in the Painted Desert section of Petrified Forest National Park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.32 at 1/25th sec.; 150mm Symmar lens; May; bright sunlight; Weston Meter 400; ASA rating 64.

"PAINTED DESERT FROM PINTADO POINT" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Photo taken at Pintado Point in the Painted Desert section of Petrified Forest National Park. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.32 at 1/25th sec.; 150mm Symmar lens; May; bright sunlight; Weston Meter 400; ASA rating 64.

"THE TEEPEES PETRIFIED FOREST" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. Photo taken in Petrified Forest National Park, showing the formations known as "The Teepees." 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.32 at 1/25th sec.; 127mm Ektar lens; May; bright sunlight; Weston Meter 400; ASA rating 64.

"THE PAINTED LAND PETRIFIED FOREST" BY JOSEF MUENCH. View from the Blue Mesa in Petrified Forest National Park. From an overlook revealing the strange contours of eroded bentonitic clay hills, striped and banded in shades of blue, the visitor looks across one of the most amazing of areas in this colorful desert preserve. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.28 at 1/10th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; May."

"BALANCED LOG PETRIFIED FOREST" BY JOSEF MUENCH. "Balanced Log" was photographed in the Rainbow Forest at the southern entrance to Petrified Forest National Park. Here is shown a big section of a petrified tree balanced on a ridge. Other pieces already "excavated" from their burial places by the slow action of erosion, have rolled down the slope. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/25th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; May."