Agatized Rainbows: A Story of the Petrified Forest

by Harold J. Brodrick

We agreed with the ranger that it is hard to understand, until it is explained that such enormous quantities of petrified wood as are strewn over hundreds of acres in Petrified Forest National Monument could be entirely removed in a few years by souvenir-hungry American tourists. “But where,” we inquired, “do these roadside stands all along Highway 66 get the huge piles of petrified wood which they offer for sale? Surely the National Park Service doesn’t permit them to haul it off the monument by the truckload.”

“Oh no,” grinned the ranger. “All of that ‘for-sale’ wood comes from private lands. The national monument preserves and protects only the largest and most colorful deposits of petrified wood; but it is found in many places throughout northeastern Arizona.”

The impatient toot of an automobile horn informed us that we were blocking traffic, so we thanked the ranger and continued on our way. However, the interesting conversation aroused our curiosity, and at the first opportunity we returned to the Petrified Forest to learn more about the occurrence of petrified wood, and how Uncle Sam, through the National Park Service, keeps the wood from being carried off by souvenir collectors, and how the fascinating story of wood petrification is told to visitors who take a little time to visit the monument museum at the Rainbow Forest headquarters of the superintendent. This is the way the naturalists tell it.

Believe it or not, it was the threat of souvenir hunters and raids on the fields of petrified wood by commercial jewelers, gem collectors, and abrasive manufacturers in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s that led thoughtful citizens of the then Arizona Territory to petition Congress for the establishment of some sort of a protectorate for the Petrified Forest. In the vicinity of the Agate Bridge and what is now known as the First Forest, enterprising abrasive makers set up a stamp mill to pulverize the great blocks of petrified wood which they found there. Here, also, many of the logs were dynamited in the search for quartz and amethyst crystals which some of them contained.

As a result of the petition by citizens of Arizona Territory, and in response to requests by other groups in the Southwest that steps be taken to protect great cliff dwellings and other prehistoric Indian remains which were being systematically pothunted and looted, Congress passed the Antiquities Act. This authority enabled President Theodore Roosevelt on December 8, 1906, to issue a proclamation establishing Petrified Forest National Monument for the protection and preservation of one of the world’s most colorful and extensive concentrations of petrified wood “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

Northeastern Arizona is not the only area known to contain petrified wood, for it has been found in nearly every State and in foreign countries as well. Visitors from distant States are frequently surprised to discover, from a map in the monument’s museum, that petrified wood is to be found near their own homes. It is, however, the large amount of the wood in such beautiful and varied colors that makes this Petrified Forest outstanding and worthy of being protected as an area of national significance.

We do not know for certain which of the early travelers was the first to see the great display of petrified wood of northern Arizona. Spanish explorers may have seen it during the 1500’s, since they viewed and named the Painted Desert (Desierto Pintado), but no written account has been located that gives any indication that they noticed the wood. In fact, the earliest written report on record was not made until 1851. In that year, Lieutenant Sitgreaves, an Army officer, explored parts of northern Arizona and mentioned the petrified wood in his reports. In 1853, an Army expedition led by Lieutenant Whipple visited the present monument area, camping near the Black Forest.

It was not until the 1880’s that settlement of this part of the Arizona territory really got under way with completion of the Santa Fe Railroad across it in 1883. Word about the petrified wood spread, and it was not long until the destructive activities were started.

The six separate “forests” within the monument are areas of the greatest concentration of petrified logs and have been named the First, Second, Third, Black, Rainbow, and Blue Forests. The latter was given its name because of the bluish color of much of the badlands formation in which the wood is found. There is not a great deal of difference in the wood found in the other locations, so they were apparently named by early residents in order to distinguish one location from the other.

Fortunately, this monument is easily accessible since it is crossed by two main highways, thus giving visitors to northern Arizona an excellent opportunity to enjoy the beauties of this unusual work of nature. The National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior has been entrusted with the responsibility of protecting and administering this and all of the other national monuments and parks forming America’s National Park System. It is the responsibility of all the people, as owners of these outstanding national values, to help the Service keep the wonders of this and other parks and monuments intact for the enjoyment of future generations.