A Startling Discovery

[HARK!]

I took a drive down to Progreso Mexico, just to have a look around. On the drive back home, I took some nondescript exit off of the highway, to stretch my legs. The first pace I found to stop was a dirt lot, next to a river. there were a few cars, and people fishing there; so it seemed like a legal place to stop. I walked over to see the river. It was about 20 or 30 feet below me. I wanted to get down to the water, just to take a look around; but the sandstone cliff was too steep. Found a dry 6tribuatary to the river; where the erosion left a more gradual slope. It was still very steep. I would say it spanned about 50 to 70 feet, and there were lots of treacherous obstacles; but I made it to the water.

Once I got down there, and looked around a bit; I was faced with a peculiar sight. There was a branch, about two inches in diameter, and about 18 inches long, suspended on it's end, on the sheer rock. Fascinated, I stared for a moment before I attempted to pick it up. I couldn't. It was embedded in the rock. Strange. As I started climbing back up the cliff; I began to notice that the branch wasn't alone. There were numerous trees embedded in the rock. That's part of what made the trip, up and down, treacherous. I didn't realize on the way down that these logs were embedded in the stone. My first thought was, "awesome, I just found a fossil site!" That thought quickly passed, as I realized that none of this wood was fossilized. I found what looked like it used to be a forest, for the most part, undeteriorated, embedded under 20 to 30 feet of porous rock.

Can anyone explain this?

 

[mama2one]

that's always amazed me, also


Trees and shrubs grow on rocks - Technology

 

[HARK!]

that's always amazed me, also


Trees and shrubs grow on rocks - Technology

Maybe I didn't explain this clearly enough. The trees were laying on their sides. They were buried in the rock; and the erosion of the sandstone had exposed them. In at least one place in the ravine of the tributary, which led down to the river, a log was embedded in the rock on both sides of the ravine, but suspended in air over the ravine bottom.

 

[JackRT]

Perhaps a landslide that subsequently was eroded by the stream.

 

[HARK!]

Perhaps a landslide that subsequently was eroded by the stream.

I'm not quite sure where the land could have slid from. This was in southeast Texas. The terrain is very flat there. I would say that there was about 200 to 300 feet between the banks and the banks were solid sandstone. Maybe there was some calcium carbonate in the mix; but the banks were rock. Even if the rock somehow crumbled into granules, then buried trees at the river base (there weren't any live trees down there) ; how did those granules resolidify before the trees decomposed? Let alone before the rock eroded away.

 

[Strathos]

Do you have pictures?

 

[HARK!]

Do you have pictures?

Unfortunately, no. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I seriously doubt that I'm the first to discover this though. I'm hoping that someone can explain it to me.

If I am the first; I'm willing to work with scientists to relocate the site.

 

[Hank77]

I took a drive down to Progreso Mexico, just to have a look around. On the drive back home, I tool some nondescript exit off of the highway, to stretch my legs. The first pace I found to stop was a dirt lot, next to a river. there were a few cars, and people fishing there; so it seemed like a legal place to stop. I walked over to see the river. It was about 20 or 30 feet below me. I wanted to get down to the water, just to take a look around; but the sandstone cliff was too steep. Found a dry 6tribuatary to the river; where the erosion left a more gradual slope. It was still very steep. I would say it spanned about 50 to 70 feet, and there were lots of treacherous obstacles; but I made it to the water.

Once I got down there, and looked around a bit; I was faces with a peculiar sight. The was a branch, about two inches in diameter, and about 18 inches long, suspended on it's end, on the sheer rock. Fascinated, I stared for a moment before I attempted to pick it up. I couldn't. It was embedded in the rock. Strange. As I started climbing back up the cliff; I began to notice that the branch wasn't alone. There were numerous trees embedded in the rock. That's part of what made the trip, up and down, treacherous. I didn't realize on the way down that these logs were embedded in the stone. My first thought was, "awesome, I just found a fossil site!" That thought quickly passed, as I realized that none of this wood was fossilized. I found what looked like it used to be a forest, for the most part, undeteriorated, embedded under 20 to 30 feet of porous rock.

Can anyone explain this?

Which river was it?
Not all petrified wood looks petrified.

 

[HARK!]

Which river was it?

I never knew. I just pulled off the highway to stretch my legs; and I stumbled onto the river. It's somewhere in southeast Texas.

 

[eleos1954]

I took a drive down to Progreso Mexico, just to have a look around. On the drive back home, I tool some nondescript exit off of the highway, to stretch my legs. The first pace I found to stop was a dirt lot, next to a river. there were a few cars, and people fishing there; so it seemed like a legal place to stop. I walked over to see the river. It was about 20 or 30 feet below me. I wanted to get down to the water, just to take a look around; but the sandstone cliff was too steep. Found a dry 6tribuatary to the river; where the erosion left a more gradual slope. It was still very steep. I would say it spanned about 50 to 70 feet, and there were lots of treacherous obstacles; but I made it to the water.

Once I got down there, and looked around a bit; I was faced with a peculiar sight. There was a branch, about two inches in diameter, and about 18 inches long, suspended on it's end, on the sheer rock. Fascinated, I stared for a moment before I attempted to pick it up. I couldn't. It was embedded in the rock. Strange. As I started climbing back up the cliff; I began to notice that the branch wasn't alone. There were numerous trees embedded in the rock. That's part of what made the trip, up and down, treacherous. I didn't realize on the way down that these logs were embedded in the stone. My first thought was, "awesome, I just found a fossil site!" That thought quickly passed, as I realized that none of this wood was fossilized. I found what looked like it used to be a forest, for the most part, undeteriorated, embedded under 20 to 30 feet of porous rock.

Can anyone explain this?

Remnants of a flash flood that occurred many years ago?

 

[Hank77]

I never knew. I just pulled off the highway to stretch my legs; and I stumbled onto the river. It's somewhere in southeast Texas.

I searched online but couldn't find anything. But not all petrified wood looks petrified.

 

[HARK!]

Remnants of a flash flood that occurred many years ago?

Maybe. How many years does it take for 20-30 feet of sandstone to solidify? How long does it take for it to erode away again; but the big question is can it do all of this before the wood, that is buried in the rock, rots away? The answer is obviously yes. As a matter of fact, what I saw demonstrates that the rock can be eroded away faster than the wood rots, when it is exposed to the elements.

It's pretty bizarre.

 

[HARK!]

I searched online but couldn't find anything. But not all petrified wood looks petrified.

I've been a rock hound since I was about 8 years old. I've seen some very woody looking petrified wood; but I've never felt a piece that felt like wood.

I once saw pictures of an axe, or maybe a hammer, that was purported to be set in sedimentary stone. I had considered that it might be a hoax. Those considerations started diminishing after this experience.

 

[Hank77]

I've been a rock hound since I was about 8 years old. I've seen some very woody looking petrified wood; but I've never felt a piece that felt like wood.

We have a small piece but it doesn't have any bark on it.
I wish I had never read this thread, now it's going to bug me.
Go back there and get a photo!!

 

[HARK!]

We have a small piece but it doesn't have any bark on it.
I wish I had never read this thread, now it's going to bug me.
Go back there and get a photo!!

Petrified wood that feels like wood? Weird! What about its' mass? Does it weigh like wood?: The stick I grabbed was about 18 inches long. It felt and flexed just like wood. I'm pretty sure it was wood.

It bugs me that I didn't get pictures. The woman was with me. I asked her to come down with me. She refused. She didn't want me to go down. She said it was too dangerous. She asked me to leave my phone with her; so that if I didn't make it; she could call for help. I did. When I got back up; I told her that she had to come see this. She refused. I asked for my phone back. She asked where I was going. I said that I need to go get pictures. She said, "are your serious? I just want to go home." It had been a long weekend. In hind sight I wish that I had at least taken pictures of the cliff and the ravine; and I sure wish that I had taken note of what highway and exit I was on. I could find it again, if I set the same course with my GPS; but it might take a couple of days of stopping at every exit near a bridge.

 

[Job 33:6]

Do you have pictures?

Of course he doesn't , they never do.

 

[Gene2memE]

Maybe. How many years does it take for 20-30 feet of sandstone to solidify?

It depends.

Based on Australia sandstone in semi-arid conditions, there's an initial weathering of ~0.5mm over then first century or so, which then accelerates to around 1.25 mm per 100 years when the initial harder surface layer is eroded away.

Sandstone in certain fast flowing river conditions may erode at rates as high as 5mm per year.

So, based on those assumptions, 20-30 feet of sandstone would take as few as 122,000 years or as many as 732,000 years to erode away.

 

[Tone]

Maybe I didn't explain this clearly enough. The trees were laying on their sides. They were buried in the rock; and the erosion of the sandstone had exposed them. In at least one place in the ravine of the tributary, which led down to the river, a log was embedded in the rock on both sides of the ravine, but suspended in air over the ravine bottom.

Could it have been an old logging site?

 

[HARK!]

Of course he doesn't , they never do.

I'm looking for answers. If these facts are sensational; then let's get the scientific community involved. Again, if this is news; I'm willing to work with legitimate investigators.

 

[HARK!]

It depends.

Based on Australia sandstone in semi-arid conditions, there's an initial weathering of ~0.5mm over then first century or so, which then accelerates to around 1.25 mm per 100 years when the initial harder surface layer is eroded away.

Sandstone in certain fast flowing river conditions may erode at rates as high as 5mm per year.

So, based on those assumptions, 20-30 feet of sandstone would take as few as 122,000 years or as many as 732,000 years to erode away.

Can you explain what I saw?