The Petrified Forest — The Memory of Trees That Never Die — (Natural Heritage)

At the foot of Gebel Qatrani, in the heart of the Faiyum desert, lies one of nature’s rarest marvels: the Petrified Forest, dating back some 35 million years to the Early Oligocene. Don’t be fooled by the sands — where no tree grows today, this land once teemed with life: giant tropical trees that lined the banks of river channels, ponds, and marshes fed by waters flowing from the northeastern highlands.

In times of flood the trees flourished… in times of drought they died and were swept from their roots, beginning another journey toward eternity. When floodwaters carried mineral-rich sediments (such as iron) and these minerals penetrated the tissues of the dead wood, the miracle of petrification began. Minerals replaced the organic material of the wood, transforming the trees into stone statues that faithfully preserve trunk form and display new mineral colors. Today the Petrified Forest contains more than 300 complete trunks, some exceeding forty meters in length, most belonging to a rare species known as Buxus (the “Bouts” tree).

The forest preserved not only trees but also hid treasures of vertebrate fossils that lived beside them: tortoises, crocodiles, fish, early relatives of elephants, primates, and even a rare creature known as the “Faiyum animal”… as if time froze to give us a rare window onto a complete scene of ancient life. Because of this ecological and geological uniqueness, the reserve’s management gives the Petrified Forest special care to protect its legacy and preserve its priceless story.