My Petrified Wood from the Dawson Formation of Colorado

[Top Trilo]

In Colorado there is a formation called the Dawson Formation also known as the Dawson Arkose Formation. The most common fossil by far is petrified wood and although I haven’t found any vertebrate fossils from dinosaurs and mammals have been found. It covers a relatively large time span from late Cretaceous to early Eocene, about 70-54 million years old. A member that has also found fossils in this formation, Blake @FossilDudeCO. Although it has been over three years since he was on his posts have still helped. He said that further south is Eocene but higher north in Parker and Aurora is Cretaceous and from the cinnamon tree family. That’s all the basic info, now it’s time for the pictures. 

 

The next four are wet to show the color a bit better.

The next three are polished via rock tumbler.

The next image sparkles like sunlight on snow but you can’t really tell with a picture.

While most are brown and black there are hints of color everywhere.

Red, and clearly wet.

Orange

Yellow is mixed in a lot of them with a lot of it being a yellow brown or yellow white color.

This is the only rock I have found with green in it. Very strange if anyone knows what any of these minerals are I would love to know.

Blueish

Purple grey

Ill take pictures of more purple ones shortly.

Here are just more pictures,

 

 

Enjoy

The largest piece, the first image, is my favorite and largest find being 8.1 pounds (3.7 kilograms). FossilDudeCO said in a topic, "It is thought that the trees fell into standing water and began to deteriorate that is why we don't see lovely rings or any more definition to the wood, rather just strange mashed up chunks and bright colors!" Which I am perfectly fine with. In case you didn't read between the pictures, if anyone knows what any of these minerals are I would love to know.

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Top Trilo

[Sacha]

That's great material. Here are some cabs I cut from a batch Blake sent me.

 

[Top Trilo]

I saw those in his thread, they are beautiful, you did a great job.

[Top Trilo]

Another image and more purple.

 

[Coco]

Fossilized wood is often transformed into silicate. I think of quartz, which exists in all these colors and from which chalcedony is derived (same chemical formula).

 

Coco

[Top Trilo]

It appears that the bubbly minerals are botryoidal chalcedony (thanks Coco). But what would be the white parts on top of the orange ones and in the third to last picture of the original post?

[Tidgy's Dad]

Very pretty. 

[Coco]

Chalcedony can be white too.

 

Coco