This is one of the few exmples of fungal infestation in a Chinle formation log I've seen in a nice, clean, easily polished specimen from this area. This wood comes from the Circle Cliffs area in Souther Utah. It is one of the best preserved and easiest to polish examples of petrified wood from southern Utah that I've seen! The slab was part of an estate collection that we refinished in the shop to bring it up to Sticks in Stones quality standards. It has a true mirror polish that must be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Most examples of this unique fossil phenomenon are quite large but this log has only enough intrusions to recognize the fungus "eyes" for what they are. This is a nice, solid slab with pretty good structural preservation (enough to tell that it was a conifer). While the structure is clear enough in many spots to give it a serious study, all I can say with certainty is that it is an ancient conifer. The log is very nicely agatized and took a nice polish as only the best grades of petrified wood can. The calcite and agate filled desiccation split in the center is classic for southern Utah. No fractures of any significance either which is rare for Utah wood!
I don't often get truly gem grade examples of petrified wood from Utah. I began my rockhounding field expeditions there years ago and while I made some spectacular finds (including a massive cycad that is now on permanent display at the Denver Museum of Natural History) very little of the petrified wood that I found was actually cutting grade material. This particular log is an exception to that. I didn't find it, but I sure wish I had! It's one of the beter preserved petrified wood logs I've seen from that state and deserves a place in your collection as well. The Chinle formation has been re-interpretted over the last decade or so to identify a nice variety of fossil conifer trees making a casual identification of a specific species improbable at best. The cell structure of most of these super old conifer like trees are very difficult to separate just in cross section no matter how well defined they are and this one is no exception.
If you're new to our shop the one thing you should expect is to see an unexpectedly glossy finish on each stone we prepare. This complete round is a wonderful example of our work. It's been cut with a diamond saw and flat lapped on equipment I built myself to produce a mirror perfect polish unmatched by any of our many would-be imitators. The detail captured and revealed through the highly polished surface is just immaculate. It's easily some of the best Utah wood to be found anywhere! The rings are gorgeous, the agate is highly polished and the detail is easier to see in person than the photo suggests. It's a truly special find and we won't likely have a lot more so get a piece for your collection while it's available!This is a slab from the center of the log and measures about 15" across the polished face and is cut about 0.63" thick. Weight is 8.18 lbs.
A nice, unique natural wonder collectible exclusively from Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary!
Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS & USPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine all of your purchased from our shop into one package to bring you the greatest possible value in fine lapidary & stone collectibles!