How Long Does It Take For Wood To Petrify?

Maybe your like

About Us
- Who We Are
- What We Do
- Core Principles
- Research Staff
- Education
- Careers
- Contact
News
- This Week's Articles
- Past Articles
- Free Mobile App
Publications
- Acts & Facts
  - This Month's Issue
  - Past Issues
  - Free Subscription
- Days of Praise
  - Today's Devotional
  - Past Devotionals
  - Free Subscription
  - Back Issues
- Bible
- Creation Kids
- Technical Papers
  - Past Articles
  - Latest Articles
- Catalog
- Subscriptions
- Submissions
Media
- Social Media
- Podcasts
  - Days of Praise
  - The Creation Podcast
  - Creation.Live Podcast
  - Science, Scripture & Salvation
- That's a Fact
- DVD Series
  - Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis
  - Made in His Image
  - Uncovering the Truth About Dinosaurs
  - The Universe
- Submissions
Events
- Upcoming ICR Events
- Our Speakers
- How to Host an Event
- Kids on Mission
Give
- Donate
- Planned Giving
- Public Financial Disclosures
Store
- Catalog

CREATION Q&A RADIOMETRIC DATING FLAWED ASSUMPTIONS DATING METHODS CARBON DATING DATING PROBLEMS How Long Does It Take for Wood to Petrify? BY JOHN D. MORRIS, PH.D. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 01, 1995

Folklore has it, as reinforced in classrooms and national parks, that petrified wood takes "millions and millions" of years to form. I've listened as many people have protested the Biblical doctrine of the young earth. "It takes too long to petrify wood. The earth must be old."

Imagine their surprise when they realize that wood can petrify quickly, and that no informed geologist would say it takes an excessively long time, certainly less time than it takes for wood to decay in a given environment.

Wood can be petrified by two basic processes, both of which usually involve burial in volcanic ash. This ash decomposes in the presence of water, enriching the groundwater with silica.

In the first type of petrification, the wood decays in a hot, silica-rich environment. As each molecule of wood decomposes and is carried away, it is replaced by a molecule of silica. Eventually the replacement is complete, with the mineral impurities in the silica being responsible for an array of beautiful colors in the final product. This type of petrified wood can be polished, and often becomes an object of incredible beauty. Once silicification is complete, there is no organic material remaining, but since on occasion the light and dark portions of the tree's growth rings may decay at different rates, hints of the tree rings may be preserved if the minerals present change over time. Many of the petrified trees found in the Petrified "Forest" of Arizona are of this type.

The other type of petrification involves the total infiltration of the porous wood by silica-rich water. The silica (or in a few cases calcite, or a combination of both) plugs up the pores, preventing complete decay. This allows individual cells to be remarkably well preserved, and in many cases the tree ring pattern can easily be seen. The petrified trees in Yellowstone Park are of this type, with tree rings readily visible.

As is now well known, wood can petrify rapidly. Several laboratory experiments have devised ways in which this can be done, mirroring natural settings. (See Sigleo, 1978 "Organic Geochemistry of Silicified Wood," Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, vol. 42, pp. 1397-1405, and Leo and Barghoorn, 1976, "Silicification of Wood," Botanical Museum Leaflets, vol. 25, no. 1, Harvard University, 47 pp.)

Wood can also be petrified in field settings. During one field experiment, researchers dangled a block of wood down inside an alkaline spring in Yellowstone Park to see what effect this hot, silica-rich environment would have. In just one year, substantial petrification had occurred. I recently read an advertisement in a magazine for real "hardwood floors." The company was petrifying wood commercially. The point is, it does not take long ages to petrify wood, it just takes the right conditions.

These conditions, with abundant hot waters (i.e., "fountains of the great deep"—Genesis 7:11) and rampant volcanism, would be met during the flood of Noah's day and the centuries following.

*Dr. John Morris is the President of ICR.

More Fossils Reflect Life's Original Diversity

Sahelanthropus Femur Likely Makes It a Chimp Nearly 20 years ago, a team of anthropologists presented the finding of a fossil skull that was very chimp-like in many respects.1 However,... BY: JEFFREY P. TOMKINS, PH.D.

New Pterosaur Discovered Pterosaurs were amazing flying reptiles that came in all shapes and sizes.1 Not surprisingly, when these bizarre creatures are found in the... BY: FRANK SHERWIN, D.SC. (HON.)

Dinosaur Washed Out to Sea with Its Last Meal In 2017, a large dinosaur was discovered washed out to sea,1 similar to the dinosaur bone found 70 miles off Norway’s coast.2... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D. More The Global Flood Is the Key to the Past

Deep Earthquakes Provide Insight into Global Flood A new analysis of thousands of deep earthquakes has revealed several large structures at the base of the mantle.1 Known as ultra-low velocity... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D.

South American Plant Fossils Confirm Flood Boundary Jeffrey P. Tomkins, Ph.D., and Tim Clarey, Ph.D. Fossil pollen, leaf and fruit impressions, and petrified wood taken from multiple locations... BY: VARIOUS AUTHORS

Summary of Megasequences across Africa and the Pre-Floo.,. Dr. Clarey shifts focus from North America to Africa. How does the African continent show a similar geological story? How can we know the Flood... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D. More Fossil Record

Change in Plant Fossils at K-Pg Fits Flood Model A new study published in Paleobiology has found that many plant species changed dramatically at the K-Pg (Cretaceous-Paleogene) boundary in Argentina.1... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D.

Possible Parasites Found on Cambrian Brachiopods Scientists from China, Sweden, and Australia have discovered what they claim is the oldest known parasite, publishing their results in Nature Communications.1... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D.

Can Asteroids Select Life? A recent study published in Science claims that an asteroid caused new forms of plants to evolve.1-3 But can an asteroid really be responsible... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D. More Zoology

Big Fish Fossil Recalls Big Flop One of the most famous living fossils is back in the news. The coelacanth is an endangered deep-sea fish. Its fins fit to unique, wrist-like bones, and... BY: BRIAN THOMAS, PH.D.

Birdwatching Through the Internet As ICR previously reported, more Americans are enjoying birdwatching as other recreational opportunities are reduced by pandemic politics.1... BY: JAMES J. S. JOHNSON, J.D., TH.D.

Secret Life of Moths Vital to Plant Life God’s handiwork is not just apparent in the amazing complexity of individual creatures, but also in how they interact to form vital parts of entire... BY: JEFFREY P. TOMKINS, PH.D. More Geological Processes Were Catastrophic

Slowing Plates Support High Flood Boundary Flood geologists have predicted that plate motion slowed at the end of the Flood year, and now conventional scientists are finding it to be true. A... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D.

Flood Buried Dinosaurs with a Bang Scientists from the University of Bath have found that dinosaurs were thriving up to the end of the Cretaceous.1 This discovery conflicts with... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D.

Earthquakes Still Active in Utah On March 18, 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake shook the Salt Lake City area. Specifically, it hit underneath the town of Magna, Utah. Since that time,... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D. More Noah's Ark and Flood

Hyperbaric Research and the Pre-Flood Atmosphere Creationists have long speculated about the earth’s environment prior to the global Flood—conditions which may have contributed to the long... BY: JEFFREY P. TOMKINS, PH.D.

First Land Bug Buried in the Flood The Scottish island of Kerrera has produced the earliest known bug in the fossil record, a millipede.1 It was found in Silurian System rocks... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D.

Ireland’s First Dinosaur Bones Found in Flood Rocks Ireland finally has some dinosaur fossils of its own.1 The ground-breaking discovery came as a bit of a surprise, however, as the bones were... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D. More Creation Science Update

Microraptor Ate Mammals But Was Not a Dinosaur The recent claim of a nearly half-inch mammal foot in the stomach of a ‘dinosaur’ is tainted by evolutionary dogma.1 The fossil... BY: TIM CLAREY, PH.D.

Giraffe Neck Evolution? “How the giraffe's long neck evolved has long been an evolutionary mystery” said a recent article.1 For many decades it was... BY: FRANK SHERWIN, D.SC. (HON.)

The Brain's Amazing Ability of Visual Perception Scientists will never fully understand the brain’s operation.1,2,3 As neurological research continues, it will only reveal more... BY: FRANK SHERWIN, D.SC. (HON.) Shop Related Products