Ginkgo Petrified Forest

CWU's Nick Zentner presents 'Ginkgo Petrified Forest' - the 8th talk in his ongoing Downtown Geology Lecture Series. Recorded at Hal Holmes Center on May 22, 2013 in Ellensburg, Washington, USA. www.nickzentner.com

[@wishmasterbrazen]

binge watching geology videos... never knew id be doing this

[@Ellensburg44]

Ha! Great to hear. Thanks.

[@Carrollavirus]

Same here

[@scottmercadodrummer]

Me too. I’ll never beach comb the same. Nick rules.

[@AmedeeVanGasse]

That's what a pandemic makes people do...

[@Kaz.Klay.]

Geology is easy lolo... interesting because the stories thatre told can differ geologist to geologist as they, 'interpret' the rocks.... #NerdLove! ... !.!.Hwa wah wha wah hwa.!.!

[@jenphillips3212]

These videos makes my nerdy side very happy.

[@vfuego]

Nick Zentner is by far the most engaging lecturer that I have ever come across. Keep up the excellent work, Sir!

[@AdamSteidl]

Around 1995 or so, was on plane with my parents, going from WI to WA through Portland, to the Tri-Cities. On the little plane between Portland and tri-Cities, I think it might have been Nick sitting next to me, explaining all sorts of things about the Cascades. One thing that sticks in my mind is the man telling me about Rainier being a live volcano. Nick, you remember an approximately 8-year old blond blue eye'd boy curious as all hell about geography on a little plane going from Portland to WA back in early or middle 90's?

[@madelynnfairbanks1837]

I have been watching all of these lectures and its amazing!! I love watching Nick Zentner!!! Best lecturer ive watched in a long time. Even through the screen he is very engaging!

[@juliezaremskiy3635]

Very well explained, Finally came across someone who knows how to explain it without boring me to death or leaving me confused, Been watching these the last few days.

[@kosycat1]

yeah I've been on a binge myself the last few days too. i feel like i could pass as a full blow geologist now. I mainly want to summit and snowboard decent some of the cascade peaks

[@froggleggers1805]

@@kosycat1 more of him, current stuff. www.nickzentner.com/

[@geoffgeoff143]

What i like is you teach a way of thinking more than a specific topic.

[@brooksg9000]

Nick’s a Real Gem! He makes learning about how 49 million year bedrock that’s been sub ducted, folded and stretched interesting and entertaining.

[@frostyeverclear]

This guys enthusiasm makes me happy

[@bruceinoz8002]

Regarding the "Pillows": Given the scale of these lava flows, it could be that the pillows are a product of heat transfer to the "cooler" layer over which the lava is flowing. As the lava cools and goes into that "eutectic" phase, it would be picking up material from the ground below and accreting it, a bit like rolling rum-balls in shredded, desiccated coconut. Maybe different lava chemistry applies here compared to situations in which lava tunnels, a la Thurston in Hawaii and Undara in Australia, form. As for the petrified logs that can be simply "pulled out" of the Basalt: To me that definitely indicates that the logs were VERY wet when the Lava arrived. If they had been stripped off the scenery by a previous Lahar and dumped in a lake or swamp, a la Mt. St Helens / Spirit Lake, they could have been quite wet / even saturated by the time the basalt caught them. Same thing; the encasing lava would provide the heat to generate a steam "envelope" long enough to draw down the initial heat and the stuff just solidified from there. Complete envelopment means no oxygen to burn out the wet wood. The next thing I picked up was the finely-detailed Silica "replacement" of the organic material. How about this idea: Plants draw up a LOT of Silica in the water they use to survive and grow. When processed, this silica remains in the cellulose structure. That is why your saws need sharpening regularly; the micro-Silica is a fierce abrasive. It is also why your scissors go blunt when cutting a lot of "soft" paper. I'm neither a chemist nor a "Rock Doctor", but, could the pre-existing silica in the wood, act as "seed" for the accumulation of subsequent Silica-bearing water movement. Then there are the microbes (Anaerobic??) that would be merrily munching away on the rest of the waterlogged tree. Any signs of their remains in a photo-micrygraphs? Cheers, Bruce

[@jaredsimpson1323]

I dig your approach.

[@PapuchoG89]

I love it that this information is free, some of the best stuff is handed down information at no cost to the listener

[@bobnwashington]

I wish I’d saw a lecture such as this 50 yrs ago. I helped cut through the forest to build I-90. The holes in the pillows along the highway are arms length deep, caused by the motorists who stopped & chiseled out the “wood”. We left the wood flush. However, we got a lot of wood when the Rangers weren’t present. Halfway up @ the animal under crossing no more wood was found. One time we dug out a large stump, which the Rangers took, to our dismay most of the wood was sold or ? It didn’t go to the park.

[@terrygardner3031]

you need your own channel, I grew up in Quincy and always wondered about the geology and what caused some of the rocks in the middle of the palouse country. Now I live in Utah and study lake Bonneville. you are a breath of fresh air in geology.

[@xpeachesxcreamx]

Love this professor! He's an excellent speaker and knows what he's talking about on his topics. I just had a comment and that's that there's a petrified forest in the US and you don't nobody knows about. It's in West Central North Dakota and the guys on the gravel pit crew that I was with a few summers ago found it by accident. Entire trees bark branches roots and all we're in this pit and these trees were huge often times it took two or three cat D9 dozers to pull them out. What a wonderful find!

[@HaemessB]

I love how at the beginning I was thinking of asking the question "Why does a forest distributed over many elevations all end up in one layer of rock at many different altitudes?" and by the end I felt like the question was fully answered and then some.

[@Ellensburg44]

Nothing but the best for you, Stubbs.

[@berserkerkonge8095]

You're probably never going to see this, but I wish a could've been your student.

[@104thDIVTimberwolf]

A teacher who imparts his love for his topic is a genuine treasure. I'm proud to be a Zentnerd.

[@repeatdefender6032]

i really dig your lectures. found one and now i'm binge watching them.

[@Ellensburg44]

Nice! Thanks. All of my stuff is at nickzentner.com if interested.

[@johnbishel1270]

It is a pleasure to watch and absorb these lectures. Most lecturers put me damned near asleep.

[@104thDIVTimberwolf]

You DIG his lectures... I see what you did there. :-D

[@jussiheinonen2463]

Visited Gingko state park today, but should have watched this before and not after that. We just drove past the beautiful pillow basalt roadcuts!

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks Jussi. One of these days I'll actually leave the first floor and visit with you!

[@vonrollveeg]

It does the heart good to see these presentations heavily attended. There is still an interest in academics and nature! Too bad most appear to be my age - a dying breed.

[@davidgrowsdragonfruit5301]

Well, i am fascinated by these lectures, and am early 30s.. sadly on the wrong side of the globe to attend in person, especially now with all the bborder closures. Keep safe 👍

[@phyllisjeanfulton]

Oh my!! Our beautiful complex earth. Makes me humbled. I am looking forward to seeing this petrified wood park and also to more of your lectures. Thank you so much.

[@robertafierro5592]

You know HOW I got into Geology? Mudfossil U. I was scrolling down and Voila! My life hasn't been the same since..I would live to visit Gingho Petrified Forest..what an exciting experience!

[@lisacarden2049]

Another awesome video! Thank you Mr. Zintner. You are great at explaining stuff and keeping things interesting .. loving all the videos ..can not believe I had not found them sooner .. thanks again 😉

[@Ellensburg44]

Nice to hear, Lisa. Thank you.

[@aquasurfer9]

Fabulous. So much info. You have a real knack for presenting material in an understandable fashion. Thanks for you hard work and superb presentation skills

[@cpomike13]

Thank you for this wisdom presented outside of Washington. I live in SoCal, and I grew up in a Rockhound household. I should have taken a geology course or 2 when in college, but I went into Law enforcement. I have been involved in gold prospecting for the last

[@rosanneshinkle4133]

Excellent. I love Geology, am really enjoying this Professor's lectures.

[@joebishop4316]

Very nice and detailed lecture. I'm from the Four Corners area in NM. I love looking for and polishing petrified wood, but my favorite thing is to ID the petrified wood and the time zone it lived in. Thanks a-lot for your info was able to learn some things new about petrified wood.

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks for the comments, Joe. Nice to hear you learned a few new things since you have so much experience.

[@citizenschallengeYT]

Being from the Four Corners area, northeast quadrant, Colorado, I'll chime in. Yet, another captivating lecture Professor, I like how you bring in the history and make a point of crediting the pioneering researchers - love the old pictures and a chance to try and imagine what it must of been like back when it was all still so wide and open. I'm curious how many videos have you made to date?

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks much. Dozens of lectures, videos, etc.....all at nickzentner.com Thanks for your interest.

[@angryoldwhiteguy]

That was awesome!! Wanna come on a sailing cruise of the San Juan Islands? Some excellent geology up there. Thank you for sharing your wonderfully entertaining lectures.

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks much. The San Juans sound great.

[@knockharder3554]

There is tons of the greenish brown crumbly stuff north of Roosevelt Wa in Bickleton, Wa. Bickleton area is full of agates but I've never came across any petrified wood. Grew up in bickleton Washington which is a town of about 90 people in between the Yakima Valley and Goldendale in the Horse Heaven Hills

[@TheCadborosaurus]

I look across from Canada side. Appreciate the teaching.

[@louiscervantez1639]

WOW! History and geology on a Sat nite Life is good!

[@derekdavis3684]

i am LOVING your lectures, thank you!

[@kathyamos]

We were here last week!

[@garyloudermilk5177]

Nick, Your lectures are very good and appreciated by me. Having lived for awhile in Washington they are of special interest! My favorite place in Texas is Big Bend which is my geologic paradise. If you have any interest in Big Bend I would love to hear from you.

[@zbyrd85]

I listening to these on my delivery routes that go through Moses Lale

[@SCW1060]

Great Lecture Nick,we are planning to go over to see the park this weekend

[@Ellensburg44]

+Ivape Scott Thanks. Hope you enjoyed your visit.

[@jessicamoores181]

Tremendous!!! Thank You 1,000 times. Hods Speed Nick😁

[@Converted2truth]

Best Internet videos in 2 trillion years!

[@CompetentSalesUSA]

Excellent dissertation

[@laurencelance586]

So much fun to listen to!!

[@janpenix8879]

Prof Zentner is the Rockstar of Geology teachers. Hehe.

[@andreassjoberg3145]

Fantastic series of lectures. You make a bunch of rocks sound interesting!

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks Andreas!

[@JilynnFurlet]

But...but...a bunch of rocks ARE interesting.....

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

Very good job

[@tolson57]

Nick, love your work. I have been bingeing your lectures. I plan to make a trig to the Kittitas Valley ASAP. Thank you. PS Gingko video is categorized as "Sports" ? :)

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks Tom. Nice to hear. Yes, please visit. Operator error when posting: sports.

[@dstubby82]

Oh boy! HD!

[@darylb5564]

Could the answer to why the wood wasn’t consumed by fire be as simple as it would not have the required oxygen at the bottom of a lake and then quickly covered in lava? I may be a little nuts but I would be surprised if the logs did burn in a near zero oxygen environment.

[@bearsbugs]

With that much heat even without oxygen you'd think we'd be left with petrified charcoal rather than petrified wood.

[@darylb5564]

Bear Peterson I’ve seen tree shaped coal before. Maybe this is petrified tree shaped charcoal.

[@bearsbugs]

Maybe, it amazes me that they weren't all just ground to dust with that much hot rock sliding over them.

[@jennylittle3910]

I WAS REALLY I NTO GEOLOGY AS A KID BUT IT WAS TAUGHT IN SUCH A BORING WAY THAT I LOST INTEREST IN IT. IF THIS GUY HAD BEEN MY TEACHER I THINK I WOULD HAVE STAYED WITH IT

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks for the comment.

[@lisacarden2049]

jenny little amen to that

[@waltershumate5777]

If you would please number these episodes in the series it might help with continuity issues. Thank you.

[@lynnmitzy1643]

Re watching.👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼.April 2k19 is around the corner 👍🏼♥️

[@1974stingray]

Perhaps there should have been some mention of the ash from Idaho that fell all over this area 15-16 million years ago and helped to insulate the trees and leaves before lava flowed over them.

[@MrCountrycuz]

Thats my Nick! always giving geology classes at the local nursing home.

[@willswift94]

These pillows are as hard as rocks!!

[@deborahdavis7484]

Is there any way of knowing if the logs were from long dead trees, or if they were uprooted by the lahars you talked about?

[@Ellensburg44]

I suppose both are possible - but since lahar material is found within the layers where petrified wood is found - lahars look to be the transporting agent.

[@ufp1701]

Awesome! Quick question if you have the time ( I know you're a busy guy). On the John Day River (service creek to Clarno) I found a spot in the Kimberly formation with chunks of petrified wood but they are black as coal. My guess is that I found petrified wood that burned in an ancient forest fire. Is this correct or is there another reason for totally black petrified wood? Thanks in advance if you have time to answer.

[@Ellensburg44]

Wish I knew! Your guess is as good as mine. No black petrified wood up here for what it's worth.

[@JilynnFurlet]

In Central Oregon at Fossil Lake, there are petrified fish vertebrae which, although originally white as alabaster fresh from the dead fish, are now black as jet. I don't know which black mineral(s) replaced the calcium carbonate (and or phosphate). I didn't find, and haven't seen any record of, petrified wood at that location (a pluvial lake). I would lean toward suspecting that a similar process might have produced your black petrified wood. The black of charred wood is from carbon/charcoal. While charcoal can survive in soils for thousands of years, I've not read of it persisting the millions of years that the Kimberly formation has lain there. Burnt/charred wood should have the characteristic cracking you see in recent wildfires (or your fireplace/campfire). Do you see any of that in the pieces you have recovered?

[@ufp1701]

Interesting and very plausible. To answer your question, no, there is no cracking evidence. It looks exactly like ordinary petrified wood, just black. Your explanation is the best I've gotten so far. Thanks.

[@niklar55]

In 1992, I did a 21,000 mile motorcycle tour of the USA, and called in at Ginkgo P F state park. It was closed! I was baking, so I just stood under one of their lawn sprinklers for about 15 mins, and soaked myself, to cool down. I found a couple of logs, in brick enclosures, with mesh protecting them, which made it almost impossible to photo them.🤔 Got stopped by a cop on route 90 on the opposite side of the valley, for speeding. The bike picked up speed, going downhill, while I was rubbernecking, but my reflexes were faster than the cop, and my braking dropped my speed to below the ''ticket level,'' before he could hit his radar 'record' button! He was also a biker, so we had a good chat about bikes, after the formalities. It may be that the preserved logs were carried into water by landslides, and became waterlogged, so that when the lava eventually reached them, they would not burn.

[@karlso7314]

Hi Nick. Awesomely interesting lectures. But I have a question and it might seem a bit simple but I am blonde.... If the rings in the petrified trees are preserved could they be compared to trees of the same species to identify their place of origin? It is my understanding that the rings of the trees can tell the story of the climate they lived through. My thought is this information held within the tree rings could help identify where the tree originated before it became petrified which in turn could help explain the how's when's and whys. Is anyone working on this currently? Regards from Karls of Australia

[@johnpoe8887]

Interesting............

[@Ellensburg44]

Glad you liked it, John.

[@harryhadyou9364]

I grew up in Coulee dam, I spent a lot of time digging in between those layers you talked about , I find this light green to yellow rock that is almost jade like but very light weight and brittle any ideas ?

[@Ellensburg44]

Yes. Lava vs sand layers....equals the jade-like look.

[@jasonbabila6006]

I have found petrified wood at Mabton and I saved a short oval piece.

[@Stand.Your.Ground.]

My families land in Ashwood oregon has petrified forests that have been untouched

[@stevemace1725]

I've found petrified wood at 7,000 ft elevation 25 miles east of missoula mont. I figure it could be a result of lake missoula?

[@104thDIVTimberwolf]

What are Washington laws about picking up petrified wood? Are there any prohibitions against it?

[@garybtownsend5898]

Any difference among the tree species that might make one more conducive to petrification than another?

[@Ellensburg44]

Good question. Crazy variety of wood....all petrified.

[@JilynnFurlet]

There almost certainly is, but the conditions under which the petrification occured would also be a major factor. The fact that there are so many different species from widely divergent families suggests that here, at least, the conditions overwhelmed the differing structures and chemistry of the woods. However, were I trying to reconstruct the plant communities the trees (and thus their wood) came from, I would certainly be wary of and looking for any bias that differential petrification might have introduced into the relative abundances in the fossils.

[@robertafierro5592]

Very exciting stuff if you're a half a nerd like me..

[@eyesopen444]

At 20:40 Well now we have Hawaii to study!

[@greybone777]

Miss fowlers rock shop outside of East Wenatchee.

[@Billblom]

Any possibility that the trees could also be linked to the end of the ice age with that monster flood? Or was that much later time wise...?

[@Ellensburg44]

Layers of pet wood from flood basalts time....older than 16 million years ago. Monster Floods younger than 3 million years ago. Thanks for watching.

[@jagers4xford471]

were the log petrified before the basalt buried them?

[@LuisSoto-ey4le]

Just like mount st hellens!!

[@maosung5219]

💙💚

[@sandyacombs]

How do you know the process of petrification without having ever observed it?

[@Ellensburg44]

Good question. I'm sharing what has been interpreted by the plant fossil people who have carefully studied the wood over many decades and created a model that passes the tests.

[@rusty1187]

have you found mel's hole yet??? could you explain the geology that makes it possible?

[@Ellensburg44]

Thanks for watching. Bottomless pit? Not possible. No evidence for anything even close to that.

[@rusty1187]

maybe a lava pipe?

[@laurabunyard8562]

That makes sense. If the tree is 25 feet tall, you wouldn't find it at the top of a flow horizon that was 35 foot tall. The lava flows through the forest in a layer. How do the logs get knocked down? Water, as in a tsunami, would knock trees over. Lava was flow around it and set it on fire. Hmmm.

[@Ellensburg44]

No evidence of tsunami water in these deposits.

[@g.thomashart9368]

There is a disagreement between the name of the forest and the correct name for the genus. The latter is Ginkgo L.

[@laurabunyard8562]

And you are talking about two different areas of lava: The Cascades from subduction, and the basalt lava from splits in the crust. The Cascade eruptions will cause lahars, which is water and ash, mixed with rocks and dirt. The basalt is just basalt.

[@Ellensburg44]

OK.

[@JilynnFurlet]

Until the basalt flow sits there for a few thousand years and develops a layer of soil on top, and stream channel sediments, and vegetation, and collects wind transported dust and volcanic ash from the volcanoes upwind. All of which can be lahar material (volcanic ash is handy, but not absolutely necessary) if mixed with a flood's worth of water. How much slope you have to work with, and how much water, are really the critical factors. Remember, these flood basalt flows didn't all happen in the same year, or even century, and usually have obvious fossil soil layers between them.

[@Less1leg2]

Sure does tell ya, that continental North America geologically speaking about 15.9 million years ago to 14.5 million years ago wasn't a nice place to inhabit if you were a tree in that specific area. to get this much discharge of basalt deposits, you have to have a lot of volcanic activity to surrender that much stuff to bury large ranges of forest. So, was there a west coast uplift cracking the west coast mountain range upward violently in a very short amount of time? Was the Pacific Mountain Range a slow process or was it a massive event with huge basalt releases as the continent split open.

[@jessicamoores181]

Gods Speed😇

[@bob_frazier]

Nothing about the color of the petrified wood and how the various colors came to be like they are? Nick, clearly you are a true geologist and not a rockhound!

[@xenophonBC]

I have been to Roosevelt, filled my tank there.

[@Ellensburg44]

Good to know.

[@danielp4507]

I found a 16" x 6" peace of Petrified wood up by Liberty. Weighed about 30lb

[@Ellensburg44]

Good to know.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Note to self: never buy Washington "pillows."

[@zahrans]

Can't they use a Mandrake potion to un-petrify the forest?

[@dalecarpenter8828]

see the thunderbolts project / electrically petrified

[@hjelsethak]

Sometimes I forget there's an eastern Washington.

[@samrotolo7303]

Nick Zentner I notice two different spellings of Gingko. What is that story?

[@Ellensburg44]

Should be Ginkgo. Sorry for errors.

[@robertafierro5592]

I would like to.touch the trees...

[@laurabunyard8562]

Pillow lava is present in water.

[@Ellensburg44]

Yes.

[@JilynnFurlet]

It pretty much is *formed* by lava oozing under/into a body of water.

[@lynnmitzy1643]

Professor Nick. Please may I have your opinion. Is Devil's Tower a petrified tree stump ?

[@Ellensburg44]

No evidence for that, Lynn. Volcanic rock.

[@cfrandre8319]

it’s a volcano stump...😜

[@JilynnFurlet]

Yup, what I read is that it is the central vent of an ancient volcano. The magma in the vent sat there after the volcano stopped erupting through that vent and very slowly cooled, forming the columns in a similar (but much more dramatic) fashion as the columns in our flood basalt flows formed. Millennia of erosion removed the bulk of the volcano but (for now) left the more resistant vent or neck standing. By the way....it's millions of times larger than the stump of *any* tree that has ever existed. I do agree, from a distance it is rather "stumpy" looking ;)

[@lynnmitzy1643]

Thank you for answering. 👍🏼 I found a crinoid fossil this summer in Pennsylvania 👍🏼

[@lickitysmackity]

I am in Boring Oregon and I find opalized gingko wood every week!

[@highlightsbottleflipnbanfl1847]

Would a glacier have carried the meteor found in western washington before the floods carried it to its found location, or could it have been the reason that the ice dam was destroyed creating the catastrophic flooding in the scablands? It was of substantial size however no crater has been found as to where it landed, unless a glacier carried it south from a crater in Canada. Would account for the meteor landing into ice and a sudden flood at the same time. But also potentially account for there being no impact crater. I realize that a glacier would have destroyed a crater by leveling it off, however we see no evidence of one close enouph to any of the possible locations in which it could have been picked up by floodwater.

[@grandpa7278]

Well, he is enthusiastic, wrong, but passionate! Research Flat Earth

[@mikemiller7231]

How about a different point of view: In another talk you said that central Washington was like Florida Everglades, if so all of those trees could have lived at one time near each other! Instead of the events you’re speaking of being over a long period of time, how about them being in a short period of time just another way of thinking about it since we didn’t see the events. These events like Mt. Saint Helens could have happened very fast! This one could have been Eruption lava eruption etc ash burning of the earth more ash then rain and mudslide etc. just a thought but if you had a major event it could have created this quickly and in layers. This would explain a ton more of other events that aren’t understood! Like the fact that the logs aren’t burned ! You would have a hydrothermal event with all of the chaos literally boiling the logs in possibly salt and heavy minerals in the water once decay or the other the cells would be replaced with the minerals etc being fossilized quickly.

[@edwardjohn1614]

Think world wide mudflood and permineralization...

[@houstontaylor442]

Why does everyone in thw audience have white hair? I thought this was a college class?

[@annotten7413]

He offers weekly free lectures to the community- dedicated nice guy who has a true passion for teaching

[@anthonymcquarrie8257]

Somehow petrified? Seriously? The Religion of Science again I see.

[@Ellensburg44]

Seriously. Careful study of these samples is required. Have you done that?

[@anthonymcquarrie8257]

Nick Zentner no Nick I have not. Nor am I indoctrinated as a geologist. I just hear the suppositions and guesses and have to ask how this is the”scientific method” clearly it is ALL guess work if even one guess is incorrect. The Earth was destroyed by a very large cataclysm, probably the Biblical flood, and it is all messed up. Suppositions and guess work are less reliable than science and accordingly dismissed when in conflict with evidence. This evidence is conjecture based on a flawed hypothesis and not keeping to the science. When a person becomes a specialist they will always dismiss good evidence in favour of their paradigm. This is proven by the dismissal of living flesh in 65 million year old dinosaur fossils. Paluxy foot prints of man walking with dinosaurs. Have you done any investigating or are you just willing to regurgitate everyone else’s narrative. I Look at the evidence. I dismiss the whole thing the first time I hear a supposed “Scientist” say” it must have” or” we believe” or when science quotes lies or ambiguities as science. It is scientism and is as much a religion as any other. Science accepts all results as fact. Scientism uses must haves or in the distant past and gives no true proofs of anything. Building on wrong assumptions. Do you do anything besides comment about pseudo science or did you already prove him wrong? Can you prove me wrong? Use your brain to make judgements,not youtube😃

[@JilynnFurlet]

The "somehow" is almost always by water with tiny amounts of dissolved minerals slowly seeping through the wood (or bone, and occasionally, even muscles and organs of animals) and depositing the minerals within it. Sometimes the original material remains, but usually, it eventually rots or dissolves away and continued mineral deposition replaces it. The result is rock type minerals (often silica such as agate) who's arrangement is precisely dictated by the micro and macro structure of the original material. This precision is what allows a botanist (or in the case of animal fossils, a paleontologist) to identify the type of plant (or animal) that was fossilized. There, see? It's actually quite simple overall, and only requires substances found right around us, and processes that are happening all around us. The only things that make them seem mysterious is that they are slow compared to a human lifetime, and happen underground out of our sight.

[@allangibson2408]

@@JilynnFurlet The really spectacular ones are where you get opal forming.

[@danjackson2987]

Millions of years ago is way off. Billions of years is way closer

[@danjackson2987]

Maybe trillions of years

[@w96725]

15 million what? Years? WHO SAID SO STUPID?

[@abbeyjane1306]

Why the name calling? Does science frighten you?