The Largest Petrified Tree Stump (In The World!)

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Largest Petrified Tree In The World

Imagine finding a large petrified tree stump sticking out of the ground. It would be pretty incredible to have found such a massive piece! Right? I’m thrilled when I find a piece of petrified wood that’s 2 inches long.

But what if you began to excavate that stump and found there was much more to that petrified tree still buried underground?

So you continue digging, only to find that the petrified log just keeps going, and going and going. It goes on for so long, that you know you’ve found something very special.

This is exactly what happened to a villager in a northern region of Thailand. According to LiveScience.com,

“A small section of a large petrified log was found ten years ago by a villager in a reserve forest at Ban Tak District, Tak Province. The discovery was reported to officials of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department and so an official came out to examine the log and surveyed the surrounding area. The log was then excavated to a length of 21 meters (70 feet) without reaching the end. Ground penetrating radar was brought in and found that 30 meters (100 feet) of trunk were still unexposed.”

In the end, once the entire ancient tree was unearthed, a total of 237 feet was exposed, making it the largest intact petrified tree in the world. And experts are estimating that the tree, when alive, stood taller than 330 feet!

As a comparison, the tallest living trees in the world today are the Giant Sequoias of Northern California and the Gum trees of Australia which stand just over that at 425 feet tall.

Experts are also reporting that the tree the villager found lived some 800,000 years ago! Which is just incredible to think about.

To date, there have been a total of nine of these giant petrified trees found in the same area of Thailand, seven of which have been excavated. These other trees were also completely buried and were only found because of the use of ground penetrating radar. It makes me wonder how many of these giant trees are simply just lying right underneath our feet and we don’t even know it.

I’ve always been fascinated by petrified wood. With every piece that I find I think about the story behind it. How long ago did it live? What part of the tree was it? What was the terrain and the local environment like?

If you’d like to read more articles about petrified wood, I’ve listed a few for you below.

• How Much Is Petrified Wood Worth?
• Best Petrified Wood For Tumbling
• How Old Is Petrified Wood?
• The Best Locations To Look For Petrified Wood

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