One doesn’t need to spend a lot of time visiting Namibia’s Petrified Forest, but it is definitely worth a stop. I remember my father bringing home pieces of petrified wood when I was a kid and how remarkable I found it that what was once a tree could be transformed into rock. The wonders of time and the conversion of matter were impressive concepts for my young mind to consider – and it turns out, they still are.
Namibia’s Petrified Forest is a grassy area of land absolutely littered with bits and pieces of petrified wood. They’re everywhere! And in addition to the well-decorated ground, there are a number of full trees, some 30 meters in length, well preserved and fully petrified. Our local guide told us the trees were between 260-280 million years old and had drifted from what would today be southern Angola. They were spectacular to view – a wide array of colors and tones, and all sorts of shapes and lines to be found in the rock. It was like a natural gallery exhibited in the earth, reminding us of the ongoing transformation of all things: Life. Death. Movement. Conversion. Beauty.
Namibia’s Petrified Forest is a grassy area of land absolutely littered with bits and pieces of petrified wood. They’re everywhere! And in addition to the well-decorated ground, there are a number of full trees, some 30 meters in length, well preserved and fully petrified. Our local guide told us the trees were between 260-280 million years old and had drifted from what would today be southern Angola. They were spectacular to view – a wide array of colors and tones, and all sorts of shapes and lines to be found in the rock. It was like a natural gallery exhibited in the earth, reminding us of the ongoing transformation of all things: Life. Death. Movement. Conversion. Beauty.
New life from old.