TAPESTRY OF TIME

Countless colors, hues, and shades paint this tapestry of time that stretches as far as the eye can see. Shaped by wind and water, this land holds vital clues to the past.

TRIASSIC TREASURE Petrified Forest National Park is one of the best places in the world to see the fossil record from the Late Triassic Period. The remnants of prehistoric forests, now petrified wood; plant and animal fossils; and artifacts have told us much about this beautiful, wild land, but there is more to be learned.

Explore where early dinosaurs roamed and giant forests toppled. At first glance these badlands might appear barren and lifeless, but look closely and discover a living scientific laboratory that reveals prehistoric plants, animals, and a river system larger than anything on earth today.

Petrified Wood Like precious gems shining in the sun, remnants of a prehistoric forest lie at your feet. Colorful specimens from small shards to massive trunks, are strewn across the landscape. In some areas of the park, fossilized trunks are visible. In other areas they remain hidden, still buried under layers of soil and rock. As the trees died or were knocked down by wind or water, many were carried downstream and buried by layers of sediment. The logs soaked up groundwater and silica from volcanic ash and over time crystallized into quartz. Different minerals created the rainbow of colors seen in many pieces.

Fossils provide crucial clues to the past. Hundreds of plant, animal, and trace fossils still being found here help us understand what the world was like during the Late Triassic Period. It was the "dawn of the dinosaurs," when smaller dinosaurs struggled with various crocodile-like reptiles for survival.

ANCIENT ARIZONA Hot. Humid. Lush. Green. It may be hard to imagine the desert grassland before you as a prehistoric rainforest. During the Triassic Period, 225 million years ago, this was a tropical landscape with abundant vegetation—ferns, horsetails, and cycads. Early dinosaurs and reptiles roamed; fish, clams, snails, and crayfish moved through rivers; and giant, 180-foot conifers reached to the skies.

Over the past 200 million years continents moved, regions uplifted, climate changed, and the river system, along with its plants and animals, was buried by layers of sediment. Wind and water have continually molded, sculpted, and peeled back these layers, giving us a glimpse of the once tropical land we know today as Arizona.

Hundreds of species of plant fossils have been found in the park, testifying to the varied and abundant plant life during the Triassic.

HOMELAND The names, faces, languages, and stories of the prehistoric people who lived here are unknown to us, but remnants of their lifeprojectile points, pottery, and messages in stone—help us piece together their story. Early families wandered searching for food and water. As time passed they settled here and began farming. They built pueblos and traded with distant people. Around 1380 they started moving away; it is likely years of drought forced them to leave. Hopi tradition says the villagers moved northwest and joined their people. Over 1,000 archeological sites have been found in the park, from one-room shelters to multiple 100-room pueblos.

Pottery and Arrowheads Ancient pottery and arrowheads are remnants of 13,000 years of human history.

Petroglyphs The abundant petroglyph sites of Petrified Forest comprise an astonishing showcase of southwestern rock art capturing thousands of years of the human story. Do they mark trails, commemorate events, or are they prayers? The answers are unknown, but we continue to learn about this art from those who trace their ancestry here.

Solar Calendars While the meanings of many petroglyphs are not clear, several are solar calendars. Some mark the summer or winter solstice, while others indicate both equinoxes. The Ancestral Puebloan people may have used them to manage ceremonial and agricultural activities. The accuracy of these calendars today is amazing.

GRASSLANDS Created by fire, drought, grazing, and storms, this environmental mosaic was once as vast as the sea. Waves of grass provided habitat and food for people and animals living in this endless, open space. The story of the land and its people is rooted in the shortgrass prairie.

By the late 1800s, sheep and cattle ranches were established and thousands of animals competed for each blade of grass. Overgrazing became a problem in the arid west. Ranching continues today, but the grasslands in the park have not been grazed for decades.

Explorers passed this way looking for routes to connect settlements throughout North America.

PRESERVING THE FOREST By the late 1800s interest in petrified wood was threatening this landscape. In 1895 the Arizona Territorial legislature petitioned Congress to protect this valuable scientific and cultural treasure. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation creating Petrified Forest National Monument. The monument became a national park in 1962.

From 1934 to 1941 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped improve the park by building roads, trails, bridges, the Rainbow Forest Museum, and the Painted Desert Inn.

TRAILS, ROADS, AND RAILS Petrified Forest is part of a natural travel corridor that has been used for over 10,000 years. In 1853 Congress authorized scientific surveys of all practical railroad routes between the Mississippi River and the Pacific. Lt. Amiel W. Whipple's expedition surveyed a possible route near the 35th parallel.

In 1857 the United States government hired E.F. Beale to build a wagon road from Fort Defiance, New Mexico, to the Colorado River. Beale experimented in using a camel corps to build the road.

Stretching from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, Route 66 was a destination in itself. Established in 1926, it was one of the original highways in the US Highway System. People hit the road looking for a new life or to just get away from it all. Gas was cheap and magical roadside attractions beckoned you to "get your kicks on Route 66."

In 1956 the faster and more direct interstate highway system brought an end to the romance of travel along Route 66. The road was decommissioned in 1985. Petrified Forest is the only national park that preserves a section of this road, a true American experience.

A Landscape Through Time

The Chinle Formation Characterized by colorful bands of sedimentary rock, this formation was deposited between 227 and 205 million years ago by a northwest flowing river system. Based on rock type, it is divided into five members: Mesa Redondo, Blue Mesa, Sonsela, Petrified Forest, and Owl Rock. These members reveal a transition from moist to arid environments.

Bidahochi Formation Sixteen to four million years ago, lake sediments were deposited on top of the older, eroding Chinle Formation across much of northern Arizona. Volcanic eruptions placed basalt layers above the lake beds, preserving them. Further erosion of the Chinle Formation has left the basalt as high points from which you can enjoy spectacular views of the Painted Desert.

Welcome to Petrified Forest National Park

(click for larger map)

Trails Stay on designated trails when in developed hiking areas. The park offers a variety of off-trail and backcountry hiking. Find detailed information on the park website and at park facilities.

Accessibility We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to a visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check our website.

Picnicking and Camping Picnic shelters are located at Chinde Point, Rainbow Forest, and Painted Desert Visitor Center. The park has no designated campgrounds. You may camp in the backcountry wilderness, but you must get a free permit at Painted Desert Visitor Center or Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center.

Wilderness Congress has protected some 52,000 acres of Petrified Forest National Park under the 1964 Wilderness Act. Preserving wilderness shows restraint and humility, and benefits generations to come. Wilderness designation protects forever the land's wilderness character, natural conditions, opportunities for solitude, and scientific, historical, and educational values.

Wilderness Hiking and Camping Overnight hiking/camping in wilderness requires a free permit, obtained at Painted Desert Visitor Center or Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center. Water is not available in the backcountry; carry—and drink!—one gallon per person per day. There are no designated campsites. Permits are not required for day use.

Protect Petrified Wood Please help us preserve the natural and archeological features in the park.

Federal law prohibits disturbing, collecting, or removing petrified wood, fossils, rocks, minerals, plants, animals, and archeological objects.

Safety and Regulations
Do not climb on petrified logs. • Be aware of symptoms of high altitude sickness: nausea, dizziness, headache, rapid heartbeat, and shortness of breath. • Keep hydrated. Wear a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses with UV protection. • Wild animals can carry diseases including rabies, hanta virus, and plague. Do not handle or allow your pets near any live or dead animals. Avoid nests and burrows. • Do not stop in roadway. • Pets must be kept on a leash and are not allowed in buildings. Clean up after your animals and please, don't leave pets in a closed vehicle. • Bicycles and motorized vehicles are permitted only on paved roads. • For a complete list of regulations, including firearms information, check the park website or ask a ranger.

Throughout Petrified Forest National Park, nature's stark beauty and whimsical artistry evoke a landscape from another world. Follow the 28-mile park road for a journey of discovery.

Painted Desert Visitor Center has information, a film, historic architecture, bookstore, gift shop, food, gas, and restrooms.

Painted Desert Inn Built in Pueblo Revival style in the early 20th century, this National Historic Landmark is now a museum with exhibits on its history and architecture.

Painted Desert Overlooks showcase spectacular views of the multi-hued landscape.

Tawa Trail leads 1.2 miles from the entrance station through tranquil grasslands to Tawa Point and connects with the Painted Desert Rim Trail.

Tawa Point is the trailhead for the Painted Desert Rim Trail, a 1-mile roundtrip walk through pinyon-juniper shrubland atop volcanic rock. Enjoy excellent views and see where the landscape gets its name.

Chinde Point offers restrooms and a picnic area.

Route 66 Alignment A 1932 Studebaker shows where a section of the original Route 66 crossed the park.

Puerco Pueblo This 0.3-mile loop trail highlights petroglyphs and ancestral Puebloan homes occupied 1250-1380 CE.

Newspaper Rock displays more than 650 petroglyphs, some over 2,000 years old.

Blue Mesa features a 3.5-mile loop drive. A steep, 1-mile trail enters the vibrant badlands with equally colorful petrified wood.

Agate Bridge features sweeping views and a 110-foot long petrified log bridge.

Jasper Forest has a panoramic view of an area with a high concentration of petrified wood.

Crystal Forest is a paved, 0.75-mile loop trail through a badlands landscape with many intact petrified logs.

Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center has information, a park film, fossil exhibits and skeletons, bookstore, trail access, and restrooms.

Giant Logs Trail 0.4-mile loop. See some of the largest petrified logs in the park, including "Old Faithful"—almost 10 feet across its base.

Long Logs Trail* 1.6-mile loop. This trail leads through the site of a Triassic-period logjam, where some specimens are over 180 feet long.

Agate House Trail* 2 miles roundtrip. Walk to a seven-room pueblo constructed of petrified wood.

*Combine these two trails for a 2.6-mile roundtrip hike.

Source: NPS Brochure (2017)

Establishment Petrified Forest National Park — December 9, 1962 Petrified Forest National Monument — December 8, 1906

For More Information Please Visit The OFFICIAL NPS WEBSITE

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

1925		1927		1938
1939		1939		1941
1941 (HTML)		1941		1947
1948		1949		1950
1951		1953		1955
1956		1957		1958
cover only 1959		1961 (HTML)	1962	1963	cover only 1965
1966	1967	cover only 1967	1968	1969	cover only 1969
cover only 1969	1971	1972	1973	1975	1978
cover only 1978	1980
1981-1986		cover only 1988		cover only 1989
cover only 1990-1995		cover only 1997-1998		cover only 1999-2001
cover only 2002-2004		cover only 2006-2014		cover only 2014-2021
Date Unknown	Date Unknown	100 Common Wildflowers of Petrified Forest National Park May 2008		Modern Amphibians July 2004
Visitor Information 02/1987		Visitor Information Date Unknown		Visitor Information Date Unknown
Archeology June 2006		Archeology December 2008		Archeology January 2011
Archeology April 2013		Bird Checklist Date Unknown		Birds January 2004
Birds of Petrified Forest National Park May 2008		Mammals July 2004		Mammals Checklist Date Unknown
Common Animals April 2008		Common Animals February 2012		Common Animals April 2013
Common Plants April 2008		Common Plants February 2012		Common Plants April 2013
Red and Orange Flowering Plants of the Short Grass Prairie Date Unknown		Puerco Indian Ruins Date Unknown		Puerco Pueblo's Solar Calendar Date Unknown
Geology and the Painted Desert July 2004		Geology and the Painted Desert June 2006		Geology and the Painted Desert December 2008
Geology and the Painted Desert July 2012		Geology and the Painted Desert April 2013		Accommodations 04/1986
Grassland 2004		Grassland December 2004		A Trip Through Petrified Forest National Park Date Unknown
cover only Blue Mesa Date Unknown		Giant Logs Trail Date Unknown		cover only Giant Logs Trail Guide Date Unknown
History September 2007		History February 2012		History April 2013
Messages on Stone September 1996		Messages on Stone August 2003		Messages on Stone June 2006
Messages on Stone December 2008		Messages on Stone July 2012		Messages on Stone April 2013
Painted Desert Inn August 2003		Painted Desert Inn July 2006		Painted Desert Inn Gasthaus in der bunten Wüste September 2007
Painted Desert Inn December 2008		Painted Desert Inn June 2012		Painted Desert Inn April 2013
Route 66 - America's Mainstreet January 2006		Route 66 - America's Mainstreet February 2012		Route 66 - America's Mainstreet April 2013
Trees to Stone Date Unknown		Trees to Stone April 2004		Trees to Stone July 2006
Trees to Stone January 2011		Trees to Stone February 2012		Trees to Stone April 2013
Dinosaurs, Giant Reptiles and Other Triassic Animals January 2004		Triassic Dinosaurs and Other Animals June 2006		Triassic Dinosaurs and Other Animals December 2008
Triassic Dinosaurs and Other Animals January 2010		Triassic Dinosaurs and Other Animals February 2012		Triassic Dinosaurs and Other Animals April 2013
A Trip Through Time August 2003		A Trip Through Time June 2006
Wildflower Watch June 2012		Date Unknown		Attention: Leave the Fragments Where Nature Left Them Date Unknown	Date Unknown
Trails Date Unknown		Modern Reptiles July 2004
Petrified Forest February 2012 (Chinese S. edition)		Petrified Forest August 2006 (Dutch edition)		Petrified Forest als Nationaal Park February 2012 (Dutch edition)
La Forê Pétrifiée January 2004 (French edition)		La Forê Pétrifiée February 2012 (French edition)		Der Versteinerte Wald August 2003 (German edition)
Der Versteinerte Wald June 2012 (German edition)		La Foresta Pietrificata March 2004 (Italian edition)		La Foresta Pietrificata July 2012 (Italian edition)
Petrified Forest October 2003 (Japanese edition)		Petrified Forest July 2012 (Japanese edition)		El Parque Nacional Del lBosque Petrificado January 2004 (Spanish edition)
El Parque Nacional Del lBosque Petrificado February 2012 (Spanish edition)		El Parque Nacional Del lBosque Petrificado April 2013 (Spanish edition)
Billings Gap Overlook Off the Beaten Path Hikes April 2014		Historic Blue Forest Trail Off the Beaten Path Hikes April 2014		Devil's Playground Off the Beaten Path Hikes Date Unknown
First Forest Point Off the Beaten Path Hikes November 2014		Jasper Forest (First Forest) Road Off the Beaten Path Hikes April 2014		Martha's Butte Off the Beaten Path Hikes January 2015
Onyx Bridge Off the Beaten Path Hikes April 2014		Red Basin Clam Beds Off the Beaten Path Hikes April 2014		Checklist 80 Common Birds 2018
Geology of the Painted Desert 2021		Trees to Stone 2019
Trading Cards
			(©Jefferson National Parks Association)

A Catalog of Upper Triassic Plant Megafossils of the Western United States Through 1988 (Sidney Ash, 1989)

A Rare Bipinnate Microsporophyll Attributable to the Cycadales, From the Late Triassic Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (Joan Watson and Sidney R. Ash, extract from A Century of Research at Petrified Forest National Park: Geology and Paleontology, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No. 62, 2006, ©Museum of Northern Arizona, Archives, all rights reserved)

Agatized and Jasperized Wood of Arizona (George F. Kunz, extract from The Popular Science Monthly, January 1886)

Agatized Rainbows: A Story of the Petrified Forest Petrified Forest Museum Association Popular Series No. 3 (Harold J. Brodrick, 1951)

"Age of Reptiles": Uncovering the Mesozoic Fossil Record in Three Intermountain National Parks (Vincent L. Santucci, Adam Marsh, William Parker, Dan Chure and Don Corrick, extract from Crossroads in Science, Spring 2018)

An Archeological Overview of Petrified Forest National Park Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology No. 10 (Yvonne G. Stewart, 1980)

Ancient Peoples of the Petrified Forest of Arizona (Walter Hough, extract from Harper’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 105, November 1902)

Archeological Investigations at Puerco Ruin, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology No. 54 (Jeffery F. Burton, 1990)

Archaeological Studies in the Petrified Forest National Monument Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 27 (Fred Wendorf, 1953; ©Museum of Northern Arizona)

Archeological Survey and Testing at Petrified Forest National Park, 1987 Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC) Publications in Anthropology No. 48 (Susan J. Wells, 1988)

Arizona Explorer Junior Ranger (Date Unknown; for reference purposes only)

Bird Community Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park

Bird Community Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2007 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2010/101 (Jennifer A. Holmes and Matthew J. Johnson, November 2010)

Bird Community Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2009 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2012/421 (Jennifer A. Holmes and Matthew J. Johnson, December 2012)

Bird Community Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2012 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2014/624 (Jennifer A. Holmes and Matthew J. Johnson, February 2014)

Bird Community Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2015 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2016/1066 (Jennifer A. Holmes and Matthew J. Johnson, November 2016)

Construct a Campground at Chinde Point Environmental Assessment (August 1, 2016)

Contributions to the Archeology of Petrified Forest National Park, 1985-1986 Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology 45 (Anne Trinkle Jones, 1987)

Cultural Landscapes Inventory: Painted Desert Inn, Petrified Forest National Park (2010)

Cultural Landscapes Inventory: Painted Desert Community Complex H.D., Petrified Forest National Park (2008)

Cultural Landscapes Inventory: Rainbow Forest Complex, Petrified Forest National Park (2002)

Days in the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forests of Northern Arizona, Contributions of the Archeology of Petrified Forest National Park, 1988-1992 Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology 62 (Jeffery F. Burton, 1993)

Dicynodont Trackways from the Holbrook Member of the Moenkopi Formation (Middle Triassic: Anisian), Arizona, USA (Adrian P. Hunt, Vincent L. Santucci, Martin G. Lockley and Thomas J. Olson, extract from New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin 3, 1993)

Draft General Management Plan Revision / Environmental Impact Statement, Petrified Forest National Park (February 2003)

Enjoy the View — Visual Resources Inventory Report, Petrified Forest National Park NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/PEFO/NRR-2019/1980 (Mark E. Meyer, William Parker, Melanie V. Peters and Ryan Felten, August 2019)

Evidence of Triassic Insects in the Petrified Forest National Monument, Arizona (M.V. Walker, extract from Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol. 85 No. 3033, 1938)

Exclusive: Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona Highways, Vol 59 No. 2, February 1983; ©Arizona Department of Transportation)

Final General Management Plan Revision / Environmental Impact Statement, Petrified Forest National Park (May 2004)

First records of diapsid Palacrodon from the Norian, Late Triassic Chinle Formation of Arizona, and their biogeographic implications (Ben T. Kligman, Adam D. Marsh and William G. Parker, extract from Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, Vol. 63 No. 1, 2018)

Foundation Document, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (December 2015)

Foundation Document Overview, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (January 2016)

Further Investigations at the Puerco Site, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (Calvin H. Jennings w/Diane L. France, January 1980)

General Management Plan Amendment/Environmental Impact Statement, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (February 2010)

Geologic Resources Inventory Report, Petrified Forest National Park NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR-2010/218 (K. KellerLynn, June 2010)

Geology of Petrified Forest National Monument (Vincent W. Vandiver, undated)

Historic American Engineering Record

Petrified Forest National Park Roads & Bridges HAER No. AZ-58 (Jean Fulton)

Rio Puerco Bridge HAER No. AZ-13 (Clayton B. Fraser, January 1989)

Historic Furnishings Report: Painted Desert Inn, Part 1: Historical Data, Part 2: Implementation Plan, Petrified Forest National Park (2004)

Historical Overview (Date Unknown)

Integrated Upland Vegetation and Soils Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park

Integrated Upland Vegetation and Soils Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2007 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2009/005 (James K. DeCoster and Megan C. Swan, July 2009)

Integrated Upland Vegetation and Soils Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2008 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2009/020 (James K. DeCoster and Megan C. Swan, December 2009)

Integrated Upland Vegetation and Soils Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2009 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2011/173 (James K. DeCoster and Megan C. Swan, June 2011)

Integrated Upland Vegetation and Soils Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2010 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2013/514 (James K. DeCoster and Megan C. Swan, July 2013)

Integrated Upland Vegetation and Soils Monitoring for Petrified Forest National Park: 2012–2014 Summary Report NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SCPN/NRDS—2016/1040 (James K. DeCoster and Megan C. Swan, August 2016)

Junior Arizona Archeologist (2016; for reference purposes only)

Junior Ranger, Petrified Forest National Park (2017; for reference purposes only)

Late Triassic Charcoal and Charcoal-Like Plant Fossils From Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona (Timothy P. Jones and Sidney R. Ash, extract from A Century of Research at Petrified Forest National Park: Geology and Paleontology, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No. 62, 2006, ©Museum of Northern Arizona, Archives, all rights reserved)

Long-Range Interpretive Plan, Petrified Forest National Park (September 2000)

Microanatomy and paleohistology of the intercentra of North American metoposaurids from the Upper Triassic of Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona, USA) with implications for the taxonomy and ontogeny of the group (Bryan M. Gee, William G. Parker and Adam D. Marsh, PeerJ, April 18, 2017)

Maintenance Guides for the Treatment of Historic Properties: Petrified Forest National Park (Andrew Gorski and Michael Lavato, June 2005)

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms

35th Parallel Route (Gordon Chappell, September 17, 1976)

Agate House Pueblo (Roger E. Kelly, October 1974)

Flattop Site (Roger E. Kelly, October 1974)

Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs Archaeological District (Roger E. Kelly, October 1974)

Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District (Amanda Zeman, Rodd Wheaton and Dawn Bunyak, December 16, 2004)

Painted Desert Inn (Roger M. Cox, Roger E. Kelly, Gordon S.Chappell and Thomas D. Mulhern, February 10, 1975)

Painted Desert Inn (Laura Soullière Harrison, 1986)

Painted Desert Petroglyphs anad Ruins Archaeological District (Roger E. Kelly, October 1974)

Puerco Ruin and Petroglyph (Roger E. Kelly, October 1974)

Rainbow Forest Historic Designed Landscape (Michel M. Hellickson, March 20, 2001)

Twin Buttes Archaeological District (Roger E. Kelly, October 1974)

Natural Resource Condition Assessment (Revised with Costs), Petrified Forest National Park NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/PEFO/NRR-2020/2186 (J. Judson Wynne, November 2020)

On the Shoulders of Giants: Influential Geologists and Paleontologists at Petrified Forest National Park (William G. Parker, extract from A Century of Research at Petrified Forest National Park: Geology and Paleontology, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No. 62, 2006)

Osteology of the Late Triassic aetosaur Scutarx deltatylus (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) (William G. Parker, PeerJ, August 30, 2016)

Paleontological resource damage from "poor science:" Examples from Petrified Forest National Park (William G. Parker and Karen A. Dorn, New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin 34, 2006, ©New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, all rights reserved)

Park Newspaper (InterPARK Messenger): c1990s • 1992

Park Newspaper (Visitor Guide/Trip Planner): c1980 • 1996 • 2004 • Date Unknown • 2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2012 • 2014 • 2016 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021

Patterns of Lithic Use at AZ Q:1:42, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona: Data Recovery Along the Mainline Road Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology No. 25 (A. Trinkle Jones, 1983)

Petrified Forest Grasslands, Status and Trends: Vegetation and Soils Monitoring 2007-2018 NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/SCPN/NRR-2020/2068 (Mega C. Swan, Lee M. McCoy and Jodi R. Norris, February 2020)

Petrified Forest National Monument, Arizona (Dama Margaret Smith, 1930)

Petrified Forest National Park (United States Railroad Administration, 1919)

Petrified Forest National Park Boundary Survey, 1988: The Final Season (Susan J. Wells, 1989)

Pueblo Period Archeology at Four Sites, Petrified Forest National Park Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology No. 38 (A. Trinkle Jones, 1986)

Puercosuchus traverorum n. gen. n. sp.: a new malerisaurine azendohsaurid (Archosauromopha: Allokotosauria) from two monodominant bonebeds in the Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic, Norian) of Arizona (Adam D. Marsh, William G. Parker, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Ben T. Kligman and Michell R. Stocker, extract from Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 96 Memoir 90, 2022)

Rainbow Forest Historic Designed Landscape: Cultural Landscape Report, Part Two (Bert Collins West Ltd., January 2011)

Redescription of Calyptosuchus (Stagonolepis) wellesi (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia: Aetosauria) from the Late Triassic of the Southwestern United States with a discussion of genera in vertebrate paleontology (William G. Parker, PeerJ, February 8, 2018)

Reducing Theft of Petrified Wood at Petrified Forest National Park (Joseph W. Roggenbuck, Carolyn J. Widner and Dennis W. Stratton, August 1997)

Rehabilitate Painted Desert Inn and Cabins Environmental Assessment/Assessment of Effect (November 2003)

Report of Regional Geologist on Petrified Forest National Monument (Chas. N. Gould, August 1, 1936)

Revised phylogenetic analysis of the Aetosauria (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia); assessing the effects of incongruent morphological character sets (William G. Parker, PeerJ, January 21, 2016)

Sacral anatomy of the phytosaur milosuchus adamanensis, with implications for pelvic girdle evolution among Archosauriformes (Christopher T. Griffin, Candice M. Stefanic, William G. Parker, Axel Hungerbrühler and Michelle R. Stocker, extract from Journal of Anatomy, Vol. 231, 2017)

Second Report on Petrified Forest National Monument (Chas. N. Gould, July 2, 1937)

Secretary of the Interior's Annual Report, 1913 - Report on Wind Cave National Park, Sullys Hill Park, Casa Grande Ruin, Muir Woods, Petrified Forest, and Other National Monuments, Including List of Bird Reserves (1913)

Secretary of the Interior's Annual Report, 1915 - Report on Sullys Hill Park, Casa Grande Ruin; the Muir Woods, Petrified Forest, and Other National Monuments, Including List of Bird Reserves (1915)

Some Strange Corners of Our Country: The Wonderland of the Southwest (Charles F. Lummis, 1892)

Sources of volcanic detritus in the basal Chinle Formation, southwestern Laurentia, and implications for the Early Mesozoic magmtaic arc (N.R. Riggs, Z.A. Oberling, E.R. Howell, W.G. Parker, A.P. Barth, M.R. Cecil and J.W. Martz, extract from Geosphere, Vol. 12 No. 2, 2016, ©The Geological Society of America)

Status of the Mesozoic Floras of the United States Monograph 48: Second Paper (Lester F. Ward, 1905)

Stone Forests (C.F. Holder, extract from Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, March 1887)

Stratigraphy and Origin of the Chinle Formation and Related Upper Triassic Strata in the Colorado Plateau Region U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 690 (J.H. Stewart, F.G. Poole and R.F. Wilson, 1972)

The Archeology of Sivu'ovi: The Archaic to Basketmaker Transition at Petrified Forest National Park Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology 55 (Jeffery F. Burton, 1991)

The axial skeleton of Poposaurus langstoni (Pseudosuchia: Poposauroidea) and its implications for accessory intervertebral articulation evolution in pseudosuchian archosaurs (Candice M. Stefanic and Sterling J. Nesbitt, PeerJ, February 14, 2018)

The Fossil Forests of Arizona (F.H. Knowlton, extract from American Forestry, Vol. XIX No. 4, April 1913)

The Painted Desert Inn: Evaluation of Structures and Cultural Resources (Tom Muihern, Robert Cox, Gordon Chappell and Roger Kelly, 1974)

The Petrified Forest National Park and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History: A Case Study in Paleontological Research Draft (David D. Gillette and Chris L. Andress, undated)

The Petrified Forest Through the Ages: 75th Anniversary Symposium, November 7, 1981 Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 54 (Edwin H. Colbert and R. Roy Johnson, eds., Museum of Northern Arizona Press, 1985)

The Petrified Forests of Arizona (HTML edition) (Lester W. Ward, extract from Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 1901)

The Road Inventory for Petrified Forest National Park (March 1999)

Third Geological Report on Petrified Forest National Monument (Chas. N. Gould, January 28, 1938)

Triassic stem caecilian supports dissorophoid origin of living amphibians (Ben T. Kligman, Bryan M. Gee, Adam D. Marsh, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Matthew E. Smith, William G. Parker and Michelle R. Stocker, extract from Nature, Vol. 614, February 2, 2023)

Triassic Stratigraphy, Biostratigraphy, and Correlation in East-Central New Mexico (Spencer G. Lucas, Andrew B. Heckert and Adrian P. Hunt, extract from New Mexico Geological Society Guide book, 52nd Field Conference, 2001)

Vegetation Classification and Distribution Mapping Report: Petrified Forest National Park NPS Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2009/273 (Kathryn A. Thomas, Anne Cully, J. M. Shawn Hutchinson, Monica L. McTeague and Keith Schulz, November 2009)

Visitor Study 2001/2002: Petrified Forest National Park (Martha E. Lee, Amy Hockenberry and Jeremy Delost, April 2002)

Where Did The Trees Grow? (M.V. Walker and James B. Felton, August 23, 1935)

When is a Great Kiva? Excavations at McCreery Pueblo, Petrified Forest National Park Western Archeological and Conservation Center Publications in Anthropology 63 (Jeffery F. Burton, 1993)

Wilderness Recommendations, Petrified Forest National Park (November 1967)

Wilderness Stewardship Plan/Environmental Assessment, Petrified Forest National Park (February 2013)

Petrified Forest National Park

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

United States Railroad Administration National Park Booklet 1919	Petrified Forest National Monument, Arizona 1930	Agatized Rainbows: A Story of the Petrified Forest 1951	Archaeological Studies in the Petrified Forest National Monument Fred Wendorf 1953	cover only Ancient Landscapes of the Grand Canyon Region: The Geological Story of Zion, Bryce, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert and Grand Canyon Edwin D. McKee 1958
cover only This is Painted Desert John J. Wagoner 1971	cover only Earth Journey: A Road Guide to Petrified Forest Stephen Trimble 1984	cover only Ancient Landscapes of the Grand Canyon Region: The Geological Story of Zion, Bryce, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert and Grand Canyon Edwin D. McKee 1985	cover only The Painted Desert: Land of Light and Shadow Rose Houk and George H.H. Huey 1990
cover only Arizona's Petrified Forest 1990	cover only Stalking the Past 1993	cover only Petrified Forest National Park: A Wilderness Bound in Time George M. Lubick 1996	cover only Petrified Forest: A Story in Stone Sidney Ash 2005
cover only Petrified Forest: A Story in Stone Sidney Ash 2005	cover only A Century of Research at Petrified Forest National Park 1906-2006 William G. Parker, Sidney R. Ash and Randall B. Irmis, eds. 2006