Petrified Wood Stromatolites in Tonopah Nevada

[@sandmaker]

OK, you have blown my mind. Wood wrapped in stromatolite. I guess i will have to go check some of mine. Thanks for the revelation! Woo hoo. Super cool. Be happy, safe and stay healthy! 😷⚒

[@SissyMchill1]

Awesome 🤩 finds. I’m in love with all of them. Thank you for sharing this adventure and teaching new stuff. 😊

[@janketza0206]

Such an interesting find! The texture of the larger stromatolite is very featherlike looking. Proves you just never know what is inside a rock.

[@seanyancy1809]

Fantastic video with lots to learn, Thank You so much for posting Elley.

[@toddeftsadams5909]

I have a secret spot in Utah that has the most beautiful petrified wood. Its beautiful and tumbles amazing.

[@jamesriggsdds2337]

Elley, That wood is most likely “Yew”. It’s know to be found around Tonapah and is commonly found with stromatolitic algae. Commonly called “Tonapah fossil wood”. Now I’m kicking myself for not doing that trip and instead took a nap. Dang! 🙈🙈

[@ElleyKnowsRocks]

Yeah this is true!!! I’m sorry you took a nap :)

[@AFMR0420]

Isn’t yew the tree of life death and rebirth, and also toxic?

[@triple_A_rockhound]

Good finds 👍 That one look like eyes 🤣 Was thinking plums

[@scottvaughn1763]

Well done, thanks for sharing your knowledge of what you have found!

[@tbenedict6335]

I had for 20 years a chunk of petrified wood with milk opal in it that weighed around 300-400 pounds id found in our rock garden out in front of the house.we went on a vacation to come home and found somebody had stolen it.they also took all my cobalt samples along with some others.

[@hoborobprospecting]

I like learning about the different rocks, gems and minerals you prospect for. I don't find quality gemstones here while out gold prospecting, but am always looking

[@ElleyKnowsRocks]

Keep looking :)

[@MichaelWheeler-n9u]

Will have to search that area on my next trip there. Think you found all the big pieces as everything i found this year was small

[@AFMR0420]

Is there a relation between tellurides, sylvanite and petrified wood?

[@kxrv6629]

Whatttt! Petrified wood and stromatolites together. I’m dubious

[@archstanton_live]

I am with you. I am also put off by the conflating of the maximum age of stromatolites with the age of fossil woods found in Nevada in the thumbnail. I am also not very convinced as these seem to lack the typical banding associated with stromatolites, but I am not an expert. Perhaps this is what stromatolite fossils look like in Nevada? Stromatolite fossils *can be* somewhat controversial. We are talking about wood fossils that are likely a few hundred million years old and teasing us by comparing them with fossils that can be billions of years old (at least an order of magnitude) different. This is a disservice to anyone trying to wrap their head around time.

[@VersaiOnline]

@@archstanton_live Yes I agree. I am actively learning and adjusting my scale of geologic time so the thumbnail threw me for a loop.

[@archstanton_live]

@@VersaiOnline Wood Fossils must be less than ~500 million years old. Like wood, stromatolites can still be found today. While Stromatolite fossils *can be 3 billion years old, or possibly even older.* The difference between 500 million years ago and 3 billion years ago is about half the time of existence of the Earth... It is so hard to imagine these time scales. If the history of the world was seen as a 12 hour clock: wood first appeared at~10:30, stromatolites first appeared around 3:30 (arguably sooner). But I bet you knew that...😃

[@VersaiOnline]

@@archstanton_live Yep I knew that, I just think it's a bit click-baity to twist the earliest record of stromatolites into a title that makes people do a double take. It should have been fairly simple to figure out the age of the bedrock that she collected from and when stromatolites could or couldn't have lived in the area. Just cuz stromatolites are 3 bil old doesn't mean that Nevada was capable of hosting them 3 bil years ago or even 500 mil years ago.

[@archstanton_live]

@@VersaiOnlineA few tens of millions of years discrepancy would have been totally acceptable. Multiple orders of magnitude, otoh *are* total click bait. GEO GIRL would never have resorted to such. I am not saying that what she displays as stromatolites are not stromatolites as there were once inland seas in "Nevada". We agree.

[@prospectorcuddeback9930]

Elley thank you for a great video, fantastic, I hope to go there. Loved your article in icmj

[@michaelbearss371]

Cool stuff! Thanks for sharing

[@trimbaker1893]

DendroGeology! cool!!!

[@JoanieBC]

This was really cool! I'm now regretting every rock or piece of petrified wood I let my parents sell at garage sales.

[@jaysilverheals4445]

those appear to be thrombolites closely related to stromatolites and yes they can form around branches. The difference is that thrombolitic material dosent have the nicely defined layers but instead each globule is a separate group of bacteria. also the stromatolites layers are the fine stuff floating in the water and currents but the thrombos use calcium and magnesium in the water.

[@cybernescens]

That's pretty dope!

[@johnbrice2842]

great great video ,do not always understand but very very interesting

[@davidvomlehn4495]

I've only seen photos and videos of stromatilites in the present in shallow bays. That they can form around wood is really interesting. I keep hoping to see them in data returned by Mars rovers, but no dice. So far.

[@odinCalaberra]

is it true that in Arkansas, pretty much everywhere you dig, clear quartz might be there?

[@dannyr.edwards4721]

Butternot...🌻🌻🌻

[@cybernescens]

There wasn't wood 3 billion years ago though, right?

[@susanmiles1003]

No, The first trees appeared during the Devonian period, between 350 and 420 million years ago. So the stromatolites in the video would be approximately the age of the petrified wood.

[@ElleyKnowsRocks]

This is very true the stromatolite is only going to be as old as the wood. However, stromatolites appeared on earth over 3 billion years ago. :) it’s just interesting that the same type of cyanobacteria 3 billion years ago was the same type to form around this wood. As far too much to put into a title.

[@martinulstein9087]

About 5000 years old.

[@VersaiOnline]

Wait, what? Aren't the earliest trees at most 400 million years old? If the stromatolite grew on the wood then the fossilized stromatolite must be younger than 400 mil. Idk anything about Nevada geology but I don't think it was yet a shallow sea 3 billion years ago.

[@mizzougrad001]

Ugh