When a fossil is discovered it enables scientists and mathematicians to better understand the mysteries of the ancient world.  Over  millions of years many species of trees have existed, yet only a small fraction have fossilized.
   Over 225 million years ago a large basin area with lush landscape, various flora, and many rives and streams flowed through the lowlands.  During the Mesozoic Era Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah were located near the equator and the environment was more tropical and humid. Over time trees died or perhaps were destroyed by floodwater or wind, and the rivers carried the trees into the lowlands.  The logs and branches were deposited and buried in the stream channels.  Most decayed and disappeared, but a few were surrounded by the necessary variables and were petrified. 
   Petrified wood is a collection of minerals.  The majority of petrified wood is hydrous microcrystalline varieties of quartz, termed as chalcedony or opal.  Chalcedony has bundles of silica fibers or calcite that interlock and absorb water.  This is called silicification or calcification. The color of the petrified wood reveals the minerals that were involved creating a rainbow of colors, or lack of, within the petrified material. 
   The Chinle formation, located in the four corners area of the United States,  reveals layers of 400 feet of sediment that were deposited by rivers that originated from volcanic mountain ranges.  As the volcanic ash decomposed, chemicals were released and permeated the wood with the aid of minerals and water and formed into quartz crystals. As the logs were buried, the cell structure of the trees was infiltrated with minerals and lodged in a sedimentary source such as sandstone, siltstone,or clay. Eventually the wood turned into stone known as