Petrified Tree Stump

3D Model

Today, the canyons of Chaco Culture National Historical Park are part of an arid landscape with few trees. Petrified wood however is common within the park. During the Late Cretaceous (85-75 million years ago) the regional climate was much warmer and wetter, and flowering plants and tree species flurished. This subtropical lowland forest supported species similar to today’s conifer, ecaluptus, ebony palm, cypress and mangnolia. Since plants grow in climates suited to their needs, paleobiologists can paint a picture of an ancient landscape by studying fossilized plants and trees. Chaco Culture NHP is a special place to study fossiliced wood because angiosperms were just starting to become more dominate arounf the time of the Cretaceous. Currently, angiosperms dominate the flora of most of Earth’s ecosystems.