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| Landmark #915 | Sonoma County | Visited: July 13, 2014 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A 3 million year old redwood forest preserved in volcanic ash! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: The petrified forest, historically and scientifically significant as the state’s only petrified forest dating from the Eocene period, is unique in its size, scope, and variety of petrification. Discovered in 1870, the forest is about a mile long by half a mile wide.
OTHER TIDBITS: This forest came into being with the eruption of what is now Mount St. Helena (not to be confused with Mount St. Helens) during the Pliocene Epoch, over 3 million years ago! Layer after layer of volcanic ash rained down upon these trees, until water and silica gradually replaced the wood in them and turned them to stone! This forest was rediscovered in 1857 by William Travers, and several scholarly articles about it attracted Charles “Petrified Charley” Evans to the scene, where he started excavation of the trees and charged admission for visitors to see them! This amazing display attracted plenty of famous faces, notably Robert Louis Stevenson, who devoted a chapter to the forest in his book Silverado Squatters and even has one of the trees named after him! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: 4100 Petrified Forest Rd 5 mi NW of Calistoga, CA 94515 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~432mi (696km) — 7.2hrs |
| When should I go? | The park is open every day, but hours vary by season! In winter, it’s open from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. In spring and fall, it’s open from 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM, and in summer, it’s open from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM! |
