historianmichael Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 This past Saturday I joined other members of the DVPS to collect pieces of petrified wood in a farm field near Odessa, DE. It was a lot of fun! Last night I finished cleaning off the last of the shards of wood that I found and I was struck by this piece. The color on it is very different from the cream and red color of the other pieces, which you can see on the reverse side of this piece. This one has a strange bluish spot on one side of it. It almost reminds me of the agatized coral that people collect on the Withlacoochee River in Georgia. I was wondering if anyone knew what this spot is. Is this piece of petrified wood in fact partially agatized? 1 Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 The whitish blue color does remind me of of Florida's agatized coral. If the plant material was replaced by silica it is now agatized. Petrified wood is a fossil. It forms when plant material is buried by sediment and protected from decay due to oxygen and organisms. Then, groundwater rich in dissolved solids flows through the sediment, replacing the original plant material with silica, calcite, pyrite, or another inorganic material such as opal. The result is a fossil of the original woody material that often exhibits preserved details of the bark, wood, and cellular structures. Types of Silicified Wood Some of the best specimens of petrified wood have been preserved by silicification. Two forms of silicification are common. The most abundant is wood that has been replaced and infilled by chalcedony (sometimes called "agatized wood"). The other form is wood that has been infilled and replaced by opal (usually called "opalized wood"). Both of these varieties can be called "silicified wood" if you are not certain of their identity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 @Bronzviking Thank you so much for the information and insight. I will put the description as "agatized wood." I love the color to it and I am so excited to have found a piece like it. Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 4 minutes ago, historianmichael said: @Bronzviking Thank you so much for the information and insight. I will put the description as "agatized wood." I love the color to it and I am so excited to have found a piece like it. Glad I could help. BTW Pretty piece, Congrats! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 a vivianite coating perhaps? Not disagreeing with the agatized aspect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Very attractive specimen! Congrats Mike. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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