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 Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park - Washington Posted by:  Volcanoguy
N 46° 57.167 W 119° 59.328
11T E 272581 N 5204253
The Ginkgo Petrified Forest contains thousands of petrified logs in a lava flow and contains an unusually large number of tree species.
Waymark Code: WM871V
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/10/2010
Views: 17
The Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park was established in 1935 to preserve one of the most unusual petrified forests in the world. Today the park covers almost 7500 acres and has two visitor access points. The most visited is the park museum at Vantage, Washington (site for this waymark). In the museum area there are picnic facilities, restrooms, interpretive signs, displays of petrified wood and petroglyphs and views overlooking the Columbia River. The other access point is about 2 miles to the west along the old Vantage Highway (site of Additional Entrance Point coordinates). This is the site of the original park facilities built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1935 to 1938. The main activity there is an interpretive trail leading to 22 inplace petrified logs.
Park Type: Day Use
Activities:
Picnic, interpretive trails, museum
Background:
The Ginkgo Petrified Forest is the only known petrified forest that has been preserved in a lava flow. The typical petrified forest is buried in volcanic ash or covered by sediments. The concentration of petrified logs at the Vantage area is greater than any other known deposit. In addition, nowhere has a greater number of different types of petrified woods been found in a single area. More than 200 types have been recognized and the genera and species of 75 established. In general at most other petrified forests around the world no more than 10 to 20 different types of petrified wood have been identified. This is the most diverse collection of species from different ecological setting found at any petrified forest in the world. There are representative species from uplands, lowlands, swamps, drylands, temperate and warm temperate settings. This summary of the significance of the Ginkgo Petrified Forest is based on information found at http://www.efsec.wa.gov/oplarchive/oplpft/Parks%20and%20Rec/epk-t.pdf
State highway workers began finding petrified wood in the area as early as 1927. The State purchased this key 10-acre parcel in 1935 and established the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. Crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps began excavations in 1936 and by 1938 had completed the excavations, trails, a small museum and caretaker’s cottage. The State Park opened to the public in 1938. In 1953, the original museum (Admin. Building) was replaced by the current museum about 2 miles to the east. The park was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1965 and by 1975, the park had been expanded to 7,470 acres. Ginkgo is the rarest variety of petrified wood found in the park. This summary of the history of the State Park comes from http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=7396
Date Established?: 1935
Link to Park: [Web Link]
Additional Entrance Points: N 46° 56.869 W 120° 02.155
Park Fees: Not listed
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