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The Petrified Forest holds a mystery as old as mankind. This high, dry tableland was once a vast floodplain crossed by many streams. Creatures now long extinct - crocodile-like reptiles, giant fish-eating amphibians, and small dinosaurs -- lived in and among its waters and lush foliage. Then flood waters washed tall pine-like trees into the plain. And they all died -- trees, ferns, mammals, and reptiles -- swallowed by thick deposits of silt, mud, and volcanic ash.

Over time, silica-laced ground waters seeped through the logs, encasing them with silica deposits. The deposits crystallized into quartz, and the logs were forever preserved. More centuries passed, and geological instabilities raised the area far above sea level. Over millions of years, wind and water wore away the layers of sediments, exposing the naturally sculpted form of the Painted Desert.

More than 2,000 years ago, tribes of hunters moved through the area, forging a well-traveled trade route along the Puerco River. Then they left. Later other tribes settled here, building agricultural villages, pueblos, and trade relations with neighboring villages. They left clues of their society, but no explanation of why they disappeared.

The Anasazi lived here twice, from 1100 to 1200 and from 1300 to 1400 AD, but they left, too. When Spanish explorers arrived in 1540, they found only ruins. Fossils, pottery shards and petroglyphs are clues to these ancient civilizations. Nature reveals her story slowly, always withholding something to ensure our continued interest. Come, join the search into our planet's past.