Fire Stone
Once a doorstop, this rosy pink piece of petrified wood, from Utah's Chinle Formation, is actually a one-of-a-kind fossil. The curls of wood on either side hug a fire scar, the first such fossil ever found. [Read the full story]
Bears Ears Buttes
Consultant Bruce Byers and his father Cleo Byers found the petrified wood 28 years ago while hiking on national forest land near Utah's Bears Ears Buttes. [Read the full story]
Dad's doorstop
The 16-pound piece of petrified wood was a sturdy doorstop for 28 years. The fire scar is on top in this view. [Read the full story]
Modern fire scar
A tree burned by a forest fire shows similar features to the Triassic Period petrified wood. [Read the full story]
Cut and polished
After a visit to a stone-cutter and a countertop-polisher, the petrified wood is ready for inspection. The slab shows patterns similar to modern trees burned by fires. [Read the full story]
Fire survivor
A survivor of a modern forest fire, shown in cross-section. [Read the full story]
Slowed growth
In the petrified wood, microscopic tree cells called tracheids show signs of fire stress. Six to eight rows of tiny tracheids suggest suppressed growth immediately after the fire. [Read the full story]
New find
A huge trunk with a possible fire scar in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. [Read the full story]
