This is one of the single finest McDermitt petrified wood slabs I've had the pleasure of preparing in several years. It's a truly collector grade cut from a fossil hardwood that grew very slowly with exceptionally tight growth rings. The preservation of the hardwood growth structure is exquisitely detailed under magnification (see the included microphoto) but the species is a bit hard for me to narrow down to one candidate. I believe the structure is more closely aligned with elm and hackberry and the ash trees that are frequently found in this site. I've found winged elm at McDermitt but if I had to pick the closest modern relative to this one I would lean towards slippery elm due to the thicker rays and the earlywood to latewood comparison within each growth ring. My amateur reading of the pore structure is at best an educated guess but I've included a clear microphoto for you to have your own go at it! It's easily one of the best, cleanest and gemmiest McDermitt hardwoods I have in in the shop and it comes in an easy to collect and display size with some of the best natural beauty and high detail fossil quality that we've seen in years! The site that produced this particular log was dug out years ago but is famous among petrified wood collectors for the exceptionally glassy petrified wood the dig produced. And we're not even talking about the gorgeous aesthetic quality of this mirror polished, gemmy specimen yet! If you've ever just admired the photos and wanted to see how much better they were in person, this piece could easily start you on an odyssey that you can't imagine until you take that first step! Examine this exquisite fossil under a hand lens and discover another dimension to the hobby of collecting fine petrified wood specimens! I've included a micro-photo taken through my microscope to show you just how incredibly well preserved this amazing fossil gemstone treasure really is! The polish this glassy slab achieved is even better and shows all the natural, rich, warmy wood tones that the best of the McDermitt specimens are famous for. They just don't come any prettier folks!
This is a really beautiful specimen of the petrified wood found in a desolate sagebrush desert that spans over 100 square miles on the Oregon/Nevada border. It's a slice from a perfectly preserved hardwood, with absolutely gorgeous gem quality agate in warm, natural wood tones preserving this ancient fossil. The exterior is still ash white - colored by the ancient volcanic blast that buried this prehistoric forest. The inside, however, is a richly colored array of gem quality agate that preserved the wood grain beautifully in every detail! The cell structure from the growth rings in this attractive fossil specimen are amazingly well preserved, especially in the lighter colored regions. You can see confluent structures between the growth rings near the center that have the wavy appearance of elm, but under magnification I see features that also suggest hackberry and ash. The rays and the cells in this excellent ring porous hardwood fossil are more consistent with my reference books with elm but even sassafras and honeylocust are possible candidates. The micro-photo above is supplied to both show how excellent the preservation is and to allow you the unique chance to examine the piece under a microscope to study for yourself! The specimens from this particular dig (Zimmerman Ranch area) are easily recognized by the richer than average color spectrum and the nicely contrasting rind (even by other McDermitt dig standards). what is unusual in this one is the white agate veins in the center. This is 100% natural and not often seen in the McDermitt site - it's very pretty and accents the natural wood colors beautifully.
This excellent round comes from one of Oregon's premier petrified wood deposits known to collectors the world over. If you don't have a specimen from this area, this would be a dandy to get you acquainted!! It's cut from the center of a nicely shaped log that allows you to see the medullary rays and other cell features with your naked eye (although it takes good eyesight to see fibers that small). This specimen has been carefully polished to show off all the gemmy detail inside. It took a beautiful polish and has the richest, warmest coffee colors you've ever seen in stone! It's another one of those beautiful fossil treasures that some happy Sticks-in-Stones customer is going to flip over!
This virtually perfect, larger sized petrified wood round measures 10 1/8" x 7 1/4" wide and is cut at a slight taper that goes from about 0.60" to 1.00" thick. Weight is 3.24 lbs. Display stand shown is sold separately.
A nice, unique naturally wonderful stone collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary!
This is a really beautiful specimen of the petrified wood found in a desolate sagebrush desert that spans over 100 square miles on the Oregon/Nevada border. It's a slice from a perfectly preserved hardwood, with absolutely gorgeous gem quality agate in warm, natural wood tones preserving this ancient fossil. The exterior is still ash white - colored by the ancient volcanic blast that buried this prehistoric forest. The inside, however, is a richly colored array of gem quality agate that preserved the wood grain beautifully in every detail! The cell structure from the growth rings in this attractive fossil specimen are amazingly well preserved, especially in the lighter colored regions. You can see confluent structures between the growth rings near the center that have the wavy appearance of elm, but under magnification I see features that also suggest hackberry and ash. The rays and the cells in this excellent ring porous hardwood fossil are more consistent with my reference books with elm but even sassafras and honeylocust are possible candidates. The micro-photo above is supplied to both show how excellent the preservation is and to allow you the unique chance to examine the piece under a microscope to study for yourself! The specimens from this particular dig (Zimmerman Ranch area) are easily recognized by the richer than average color spectrum and the nicely contrasting rind (even by other McDermitt dig standards). what is unusual in this one is the white agate veins in the center. This is 100% natural and not often seen in the McDermitt site - it's very pretty and accents the natural wood colors beautifully.
This excellent round comes from one of Oregon's premier petrified wood deposits known to collectors the world over. If you don't have a specimen from this area, this would be a dandy to get you acquainted!! It's cut from the center of a nicely shaped log that allows you to see the medullary rays and other cell features with your naked eye (although it takes good eyesight to see fibers that small). This specimen has been carefully polished to show off all the gemmy detail inside. It took a beautiful polish and has the richest, warmest coffee colors you've ever seen in stone! It's another one of those beautiful fossil treasures that some happy Sticks-in-Stones customer is going to flip over!
This virtually perfect, larger sized petrified wood round measures 10 1/8" x 7 1/4" wide and is cut at a slight taper that goes from about 0.60" to 1.00" thick. Weight is 3.24 lbs. Display stand shown is sold separately.
A nice, unique naturally wonderful stone collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary!