Petrified wood?

[markey]

Hi newbie here. Hoping someone can help me confirm if this rock I found on our property in central PA is petrified wood. Very dense material, and it looks like a chunk of decomposing hemlock. 

 

Thanks!

[ynot]

Welcome to TFF!

Can You post pictures of all sides and the ends of this piece?

I think it is a weathered concretion, but more pictures may change that opinion.

[Auspex]

I see what appear to be knot holes:

If it is stony-hard, it looks good for petrified wood to me.

 

Images as good as this one, from other angles, will help.

[markey]

Wow thanks for the quick responses. I can’t figure out how to post more than 1 pic with the 3.95 MB size limit. It is definitely stony hard, and the end is flat as if it was cut. 

[markey]

Here is the other side. 

[KimTexan]

I have the issue with not being able to upload pics too. I email the ones I wish to post to myself. When I click send it asks me what size I wish to send them as. I pick the sized less than 3.95 mb.

It looks like wood to me.

 

I can see why it might be confused with an ironstone concretion though. I’ve seen thousands of ironstone concretions in numerous states. Some I have actually have wood inside the concretion.

 

I believe it is petrified wood too, but would like to see a pic of the flat end to see if there are tree rings present. 

It is a lovely piece with nice color and wood grain texture and appearance. Big pieces that look almost like real wood can be highly sought after depending upon the age.

 

Do you know the formation there or the geologic period? I think of Pennsylvania as generally being Paleozoic Carboniferous, “Pennsylvanian”, but I think that is the western part of the state. I know it has older Paleozoic and some Triassic too. The geology gets complex close to Hwy 99 and east of there.

 

When I think of petrified wood I generally think of the pet wood in the Petrified Forest National Park, which is Triassic or the petrified wood we have here in Texas, which is Cretaceous, which are both younger than the Carboniferous.

[Auspex]

Central PA's bedrock is all Paleozoic. If this was found there (and was not transported there by human agency), it would almost have to be from the Cenozoic.

[ynot]

I do not see wood here. It looks like a mineralized vein where some stress has caused apparent layering do to faulting under pressure.

[Plantguy]

It is an interesting chunk of something isnt it....As Kim mentioned above...wonder what the end looks like...

 

Regards, Chris 

[markey]

Here is the flat side. I found this in northcentral PA in the Allegheny Plateau region. 

[ynot]

This surface is covered with a thin mineral vein that obscures most of what We wanted to see.

Can You take one straight on to the other end?

Thank You,

Tony

 

PS I am still of the non wood opinion.

[Scylla]

The sides look like petrified wood, but I agree that the end does not. But looking at the side veiw you can see some cracks running across the "grain" of the "wood" that are mineralized. If the specimen broke at one of those cracks, as is likely, you may only see the infilling mineral layer. I hope I haven't confused anyone 

[Plantguy]

Thanks for the additional view but as Tony indicated that wasnt what we were hoping for--unfortunately nothing to show the interior structure. Darn.

 

I was looking at your first photo again and am intrigued by the dark blotches/Black material in/on the lower portion of the specimen and a few other areas in the upper portion that I also circled that have what almost looks like tiny angular grains of some kind? 

I'm still undecided at this point.

Regards, Chris