Petrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The park's headquarters are about 26 miles (42 km) east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels a railroad line, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about 146 square miles (380 km2), encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands. The site, the northern part of which extends into the Painted Desert, was declared a National Monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. About 600,000 people visit the park each year and take part in activities including sightseeing, photography, hiking, and backpacking. The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert gets its name.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified_Forest_National_Park
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1633:
Galileo Galilei was forced to recant his heliocentric view of the Solar System by the Roman Inquisition, after which, as legend has it, he muttered under his breath, "And yet it moves". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair
1807:
The British warship HMS Leopard pursued and attacked the American frigate USS Chesapeake in the belief that the latter had deserters from the Royal Navy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake%E2%80%93Leopard_Affair
1911:
George V and Mary of Teck (both pictured) were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck
1937:
Camille Chautemps became Prime Minister of France for the third time, in the second Popular Front ministry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Chautemps
2002:
An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw struck a region of northwestern Iran, killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others, and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official response. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bou%27in-Zahra_earthquake
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
avocation: 1. A hobby or recreational or leisure pursuit. 2. Pursuits; duties; affairs which occupy one's time; usual employment; vocation. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avocation
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
We see what we are told that we see. Repetition and pride are the keys to this. To hear and to see Even an obvious lie Again And again and again May be to say it, Almost by reflex Then to defend it Because we have said it And at last to embrace it Because we've defended it. --Octavia Butler https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Octavia_Butler