About Lesvos:
The island of Lesvos, which is the third largest Greek island, is located to the NE of the Aegean sea and covers an area of 1630 square kilometres. The East coast of Lesvos is separated from the West coast of Asia Minor by the Mytilene strait.
Petrified Forest:
The fossilised plants in petrified forest are silicified remnants of a sub-tropical forest that existed on the north-west part of the island 20-15 million years ago.
The formation of the petrified forest is directly related to the intense volcanic activity in Lesvos island during late Oligocene - middle Miocene. The volcanic eruptions during this time, produced lavas, pyroclastic materials and volcanic ash, which covered the vegetation of the area. The rapid covering of tree trunks, branches, and leaves led to isolation from atmospheric conditions. Along with the volcanic activity, hot solutions of silicon dioxide penetrated and impregnated the volcanic materials that covered the tree trunks. Thus the major fossilisation process started with a molecule by molecule replacement of organic plant by inorganic materials. In the case of the Petrified forest of Lesvos, the fossilisation was perfect due to favourable fossilisation conditions. Therefore morphological characteristics of the tree trunks such as the annual rings, barkers, as well as the internal structure of the wood, are all preserved in excellent condition.
The high proportion of upright petrified tree trunks with well preserved roots in the fossilised soil represents a complete autochthonous (fossilised in situ) ecosystem.
The silicified tree trunks and their organs - especially the wood - are very well preserved. Furthermore, fossilised leaves, cones and seeds provide the raw data for important scientific studies.
Taxonomic study of the flora shows that they do not grow today in the Mediterranean, but only in tropical to subtropical regions such as Asia and America.
All of the above mentioned criteria certify that the petrified forest of Lesvos represent an important stage of the earth's evolutionary processes. It is considered as a unique natural geological monument which offers rare scientific information, like no other analogous monument from this time period and stage of plant development ever existed.
Recognising the major geological and paleontological value of the site, the Greek State has declared the Petrified Forest to be preserved Natural Monument.
The Petrified Forest Park is accessible only during opening hours: 8:30 - 19:00 in the summer and 8:30 - 16:30 in the winter. According to the last information, the opening hours are now from 8:00 to 16:00. The entrance fee increased to 5 Euro (2 Euro at the time of our visit). If you really don't want to pay, isolated fossilised tree trunks can be found in many other parts of the island, including the villages of Akrasi, Molyvos, Plomari and Polichnitos. If you find one, take a photo and write GPS coordinates to your log.
IN ORDER TO CLAIM THIS CACHE:
Send me answers (via my profile) on three questions:
- What year was the Petrified Forest Park established?
- How large is the area covered by the Petrified Forest Park?
- What is the perimeter of the biggest petrified trunk in the Park?
Optional since 1st January 2011: Take a photo of you and/or your GPS near the fossilized tree at given coordinates (or some other of your choice) and upload it to your log.