After This Roadside Attraction in Thailand, I Don’t Feel So Old Now!
When you’re an old fossil on the road like me, what’s better than stopping by the side of the road to see an old fossil?
This was no pedestrian fossil, either.
The world’s oldest, largest intact tree fossil was unearthed recently in the Ban Tak District of Tak Province, Northwest Thailand.
I was hitching a ride from Bangkok to Lampang with my friend Sky who decided the Petrified Wood Forest Park would be a good place to stop and stretch.
Wow! Stretched along 72 meters of earth was this ancient tree trunk turned to rock that was discovered by a local villager and uncovered by scientists in just the past 10 years.
Experts estimate the tree was alive in the forest about 800,000 years ago and was as tall as the tallest trees on earth today.
Several other large tree fossils have also been uncovered near the site and they now comprise the Petrified Wood Forest Park which is open to visitors.
Thai officials are trying to preserve the fossilized tree, which has started to deteriorate since being exposed to the elements.
For more, see these articles in Live Science and ResearchGate .
