Mesozoic Gymnosperm petrified wood tells a story of extraordinary travel

Description

Ancient Gymnosperm  (Araucariaceae Family)
Origin in Four Corners Region in Chinle Formation; Triassic age
Found now on Pebble Terrace, Imperial County, California
Up for your consideration is a pebble of petrified wood that started out life in the region that we call the Four Corners area today.  Four Corners is the meeting point of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.   The tree was alive in the Triassic age - approximately 225 million years ago.  It died, was covered by volcanic ash and became petrified.  At some point later on, it was brought again to the surface of the earth by processes of orogeny (mountain building) of the Colorado Plateau and was subsequently eroded out of its strata.  Thus began an extraordinary journey into the Ancient Colorado River drainage.  As the petrified tree worked its way downstream it gradually weathered into the size of a cobble - moving during flood events, sometimes being deposited on floodplains and then moved again millennia later by more flood events.  This cobble of petrified wood was recovered in the deserts of Imperial County California at a spot known as "Pebble Terrace" a distance of more than 500 miles form its original place of birth and petrification.  What an amazing story this pebble could tell if only it could talk.  However, modern science can help interpret the history of the pebble's journey through analysis of the paleontology and geochemistry of the rock.  The site has been known for many decades to rockhounds who come to the terrace (itself several miles in length) and search for the occasional pebble of petrified wood among the trillions of other pebbles of nearly every imaginable kind of rock that has been flushed down the Colorado River over the past millions and millions of years.  If you are a collector who likes fossils with a story to tell and perfect provenance, this is a good one to add to your collection.  The pebble (cobble) measures 4" x 3" in cross section and is 1.5" thick.
We specialize in petrified wood and plant fossils which are accurately identified as to locality of origin and family, genus or species. We don’t guess and when we don’t know, we say so! Your specimen will come with a label identifying the specimen, the locality where it was collected, the formation and age of the material and any other pertinent information we have gleaned from our literature search.
Buyer to pay shipping charge of .00 for delivery to addresses in the United States. We are happy to ship internationally but international bidders should use the eBay postage rate calculator before bidding to determine postal rates for the postage charges to their country.
Be sure to check out our other auctions. We are happy to combine auction winnings to save you shipping costs.
eBay is now
charging
and collecting State Sales Tax for many states and yours may be one of them.  eBay then remits the tax directly to your state tax agency.
Powered by
eBay Turbo Lister
The free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items.