Calistoga's Petrified Forest

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What is a petrified forest? They look like trees, but when you touch them they're cold. Transformed by minerals in sediment, volcanic ash, and groundwater, the trees have become fossilized. No longer wood, these trees tell the story of the climate and ecosystem millions of years ago.

The Petrified Forest in Calistoga, California is the result of an eruption of Mt. St. Helena over 3,000,000 years ago. The volcanic eruption probably lasted for yea...