Petrified wood is Mississippi’s State Rock. But wait? How can it be the State Rock when its petrified wood? Well, petrified wood is actually a type of fossil. When something becomes a fossil, all its organic material gets slowly replaced with hard minerals like calcite. Petrified wood is harder, heavier, and sturdier than living wood—even the world’s heaviest wood, South African Ironwood—is outweighed by petrified wood. The process of fossilization doesn’t just preserve things—it literally turns them into rocks.
Watch this short video to learn more about petrified wood!
