Painted Desert Playing Cards

Petrified Forest National Park was established in 1906 to protect one of the world’s largest and most colorful deposits of petrified wood. The fossil record contained in this 225 million-year-old geologic layer called the “Chinle Formation” allows a fascinating look at the fauna and flora of the late Triassic Period. This colorful sediment, also known at the Painted Desert, spans the 28-mile journey through the park.