jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on Apr 14, 2023 9:27:28 GMT -5
Didn't we decide they had been washed there when Chicxlub impacted Yucatan 65 million years ago? It would be neat to identify the plants!  If you figure it out please let me know. The oil drillers way out in the gulf were surprised to find mega oil under 1000 to 1900 feet of pure sand underlain/mixed with volcanic debris in 2001. They were mystified by the sand and it's vast coverage well away from shore. Unfortunately the water was a mile + deep and they had to up there game extracting the oil at 7000+ depths. The deep pure vast sand deposit remains an enigma. The other challenge for the oil drillers is the hurricanes. Ivan hit 2006 I believe, NOAA's wave measuring instruments stopped recording when the waves peaked 100 feet. With super rigs out there the wave measuring equipment has likely been improved. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on Apr 14, 2023 9:29:14 GMT -5
Jamesp, that is some really nice wood and excellent photography for your exploration. It's not like your Texas Victor but we will take what we can get ! Maybe one day Alabama wood can be found to rival Texas wood. |
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on Apr 14, 2023 9:55:42 GMT -5
jamesp A couple of those rocks pictured in the album look oddly familiar!! Not sure how they got in my garage!!  When I get some time I will post a couple of pictures of two or three of them polished. As you mentioned it does not look like the material is from trees, the grain is wrong. Some sort of giant plant, somewhere between Palm and Bamboo. Oh that rock stork must have dropped those at your place Henry. They must be snooping around the wood pile over here. Much of the wood I found in Texas did not seem to be wood. One of the most common woods found around Zapata never had a knot over a quarter inch in size which suggests some kind of vascular plant. Then there were what appeared to be petrified tulip bulbs with onion like structure. Of course plenty of varied pet palms ferns and cycads, all three very woody and tough for easy petrifying. This deposit appears to be a monoculture and whatever it is and it got very large. They say ancient Alabama was covered with Ginkgo and Conifers. This plant is neither but it is well enough preserved to make taxonomy. Unfortunately the broad diversity during ancient times makes ID tricky. fernwood I hope the geology student can get it ID'ed at Auburn. For what it is worth I did find a piece of pet wood that mimicked this material perfectly. Geez with so many photos some paleo-biologist has to have some idea of what it is ! Since it appears to be an ocean deposit it is hard to say where it floated in from. Here east of Alabama in Georgia almost all storms and prevailing winds come from the west there. But hurricanes rotate and can blow from all 4 directions as they passover, maybe an ancient hurricane hit at that 350 foot deeper high tide and pushed them into this cove ! |
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aGates
has rocks in the head
Building a silver studio
Member since January 2021
Posts: 518
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Post by aGates on Apr 14, 2023 22:22:11 GMT -5
If you ever want to sell or trade your petrified plant for some saddle mountain pet wood or greenbacks ide like some of that colorful / splotchy material! Wow!
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 15, 2023 0:57:43 GMT -5
I don't have anything to trade but if you are ever going to sell some pieces, count me in!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on Apr 16, 2023 13:21:26 GMT -5
aGates pebblesky if y'all are ever in Atlanta stop by and I will load you up.
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,688
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Post by NRG on May 2, 2023 20:15:03 GMT -5
jamespI now have a proper microscope for imaging these things. I would be happy to image some of the details for you and all to enjoy. Remarkable material
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,688
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Post by NRG on May 2, 2023 20:19:17 GMT -5
Too me; those do not look like wood at all. Looks more like a red version of Gary Green. A sedimentary jasper. But thats just me.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on May 4, 2023 7:56:59 GMT -5
Too me; those do not look like wood at all. Looks more like a red version of Gary Green. A sedimentary jasper. But thats just me. Yes, it is has a strange structure NRG. Uchee sandstone is common in the area but it lacks repetitive structure. The predominant rock in the area is both quartzite and silicified sand. This wood like material is located at a zone called the cretaceous Tuscaloosa formation noted for bearing sand cast pet wood. Not only pet wood but other petrified vascular plants like giant horsetail(equisedom) is found sand casted in this formation. The controlling factor that this is a plant petrification is the repeating structure of about 1/16" parallel lines not to mention color. It does not seem to be wood, It appears to be a vascular plant as it has no knots. A piece was sawn that has what appears to be a classic insect bore hole with hemispherical terminus:   |
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 475
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Post by herb on May 4, 2023 8:50:43 GMT -5
Too me; those do not look like wood at all. Looks more like a red version of Gary Green. A sedimentary jasper. But thats just me. Yes, it is has a strange structure NRG. Uchee sandstone is common in the area but it lacks repetitive structure. The predominant rock in the area is both quartzite and silicified sand. This wood like material is located at a zone called the cretaceous Tuscaloosa formation noted for bearing sand cast pet wood. Not only pet wood but other petrified vascular plants like giant horsetail(equisedom) is found sand casted in this formation. The controlling factor that this is a plant petrification is the repeating structure of about 1/16" parallel lines not to mention color. It does not seem to be wood, It appears to be a vascular plant as it has no knots. A piece was sawn that has what appears to be a classic insect bore hole with hemispherical terminus: The material is colorful and interesting, but I'm also thinking it isn't petrified wood. All the flickr pics show parallel banding, no circular banding that you'd see when crossing cutting a log. A few pics show cut chunks where you can see more than 1 face and I dont notice and circular banding. |
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on May 4, 2023 19:31:33 GMT -5
Some amazing specimens!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on May 5, 2023 13:09:09 GMT -5
Yes, it is has a strange structure NRG. Uchee sandstone is common in the area but it lacks repetitive structure. The predominant rock in the area is both quartzite and silicified sand. This wood like material is located at a zone called the cretaceous Tuscaloosa formation noted for bearing sand cast pet wood. Not only pet wood but other petrified vascular plants like giant horsetail(equisedom) is found sand casted in this formation. The controlling factor that this is a plant petrification is the repeating structure of about 1/16" parallel lines not to mention color. It does not seem to be wood, It appears to be a vascular plant as it has no knots. A piece was sawn that has what appears to be a classic insect bore hole with hemispherical terminus: The material is colorful and interesting, but I'm also thinking it isn't petrified wood. All the flickr pics show parallel banding, no circular banding that you'd see when crossing cutting a log. A few pics show cut chunks where you can see more than 1 face and I dont notice and circular banding. I agree herb, it seems not 'wood' per se but it is some type of vascular plant that has no knots nor growth rings(typical with many vascular plants). I ran into this in Texas, many petrifications are not wood but vascular plants w/out knots and growth rings. So most of the cuts are with the 'grain' and not cross grain because it is prettier cut with-grain. Check it out: cross cut:  Same piece cut with-grain:  Another example, middle two are cross cut, outside two are with-grain, all from same 20 pound chunk. Same game over and over...:  Now look at patina. This shape and pattern is very common on site, radial shape and radial banding is present in patina(not sawn so much) on sections and chunks from small to guessing 6+ feet in diameter:  Along this geologic vein 150 miles north west we found (vascular)horsetail(equisetum) up to 12 inches in diameter. Take note that these are all sand casts with volcanic ash clays present for silica source. We are in the sand belt, just south **pure sand 1000 to 1900 feet deep. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on May 5, 2023 13:14:22 GMT -5
Thanks dillonf. Above the 50 foot deep creek canyon is whole logs up to 8 feet in diameter but most are 70% buried. A small 3 foot half log chunk sitting up:  More logs in ground(snuck over on some private hunting land real quick)  |
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 479
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 14:00:59 GMT -5
jamesp Is that some sort of electric motorcycle in the last photo?
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on May 6, 2023 11:59:39 GMT -5
jamesp Is that some sort of electric motorcycle in the last photo? Yes it is hypodactylus. 130 pounds of fun. I use it almost daily here on the farm. Check it out on the internet - Vector Vortex. It is a rocket. |
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 479
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Post by hypodactylus on May 6, 2023 15:00:21 GMT -5
jamesp Is that some sort of electric motorcycle in the last photo? Yes it is hypodactylus . 130 pounds of fun. I use it almost daily here on the farm. Check it out on the internet - Vector Vortex. It is a rocket. Awesome, I will take a look! |
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RWA3006
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Member since March 2009
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Post by RWA3006 on May 14, 2023 13:49:40 GMT -5
Jim, those are some fun photos and I appreciate all the colors.
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When I get some time I will post a couple of pictures of two or three of them polished. 
