just curious, something I found Options

[jay]

Hello,
I joined this forum to see what I found today in Elizabeth, CO. I was walking around a job site today and found what I think is petrified wood. The other guys there said I was crazy, so I kept walking around and found a rather symmetrical rock. This may be common but I thought it was neat.
The other rocks seemed to have some sort of crystallization, could I cut these open or just a common rock to the wonderful rocky mountains?

[jay]

thanks everyone,
when I tap what looks like petrified wood, it sounds like porcelain or glass. If it is petrified wood, how old could something like that be?
How is petrified wood made?
I knew the round rock was just a rock, but I have never seen one so symmetrically round. I wish i had a way to measure it.
What kind of blade would I need to cut the other two in half or just a waste of time?

[MikeS]

thanks everyone,
when I tap what looks like petrified wood, it sounds like porcelain or glass. If it is petrified wood, how old could something like that be?
How is petrified wood made?
I knew the round rock was just a rock, but I have never seen one so symmetrically round. I wish i had a way to measure it.
What kind of blade would I need to cut the other two in half or just a waste of time?

Petrified wood is made by other minerals slowly moving in and replacing the organic tissue as it decays over a long time. There is not likely any actual wood left in that piece. The other minerals take on the shape and even the grain of the wood (seen in picture #3) In this case it appears that a form of Quartz called Chalcedony has replaced the organic tissue and has very glass like properties.
As far as cutting the rocks you are likely to see more of whats outside. But if you decide you want to check I recommend finding a rock shop with the proper saw that is willing to do it. I do not recommend trying to cut these hard stones yourself without a proper saw which can be quite pricey especially the larger the pieces you want to cut.
It may be hard to tell the age of the petrified wood without some in depth research but I would wager it is in the 100's of millions of years old range.
The Granite that I am finding crystals in is over a billion years old!