Excerpt from Report on the Petrified Forests of Arizona Perhaps the most prominent of all the scenic features of the region is the well-known Natural Bridge, consisting of a great petrified trunk lying across a canyon and forming a footbridge over which anyone may easily pass. For reasons that will be obvious, the full treatment of this feature is deferred to a more appropriate place. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon--a few American national parks enjoy amusement-park status, eclipsing many other beautiful and significant parks due to their heavy political support and spectacular sights. Visitors to Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona can escape from the litter, snack bars, and crowds of the recreational parks to a 200-million-year-old ecosystem locked in stone. Enhanced by the unrivaled, colorful beauty of the adjacent Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park has captivated visitors since the area was discovered by early explorers. The history of the huge fossilized forest parallels that of Arizona. It was discovered and looted by adventurers and largely ignored by the government until President Theodore Roosevelt made it a national monument in 1906. The forest's location along Route 66 brought a large number of visitors during the time it enjoyed only monument status, but lack of funding for protection allowed much damage and theft of fossilized wood. Petrified Forest National Park: A Wilderness Bound in Time speeds the reader on an ancient ecological journey, from the time of dinosaurs to the discovery of their Triassic fossils and on through a century of political maneuvering to create a place for the forest in American history. George Lubick describes how a dedicated few understood the environmental importance as well as the unique beauty of the park's Triassic Chinle Formation and the Painted Desert. Nearly a million people "visit the Triassic" annually; this environmental history of the ancient forest is important for those who know the park as well as those interested in natural America. Petrified Forest National Park is one of the few complete histories of any national park, a well-told, balanced treatment of the environmental, political, and historical factors that shape America's natural history.

CLICK HERE to download the hike "Piestwea Peak" from 100 Classic Hikes in Arizona * 100 Arizona hikes with color photos and trail maps * Now includes detailed topographic maps, elevation trail profiles, and a trails-at-a-glance chart indicating distance, level of difficulty, and Arizona seasonal considerations * Includes a mix of hiking trails from easy day trips, to never-dull loop hikes, to more remote long-distance treks No Arizona hiking guidebook captures the beautifully complex and varied landscape of the state like Scott Warren's. 100 Classic Hikes in Arizona offers a wide range of the state's most scenic hiking trails. You can stand in a mile deep canyon one day, hike through a saguaro cactus forest the next, and stand on a nearly 10,000 foot "sky island" in the Chiricahua Mountains yet another day. You can hike Lenox Crater, an actual volcano with a nearby lava flow, or lose yourself on Dutchman's Trail, a solitary long distance trek in the fabled Superstition Mountains. This classic Arizona hiking guidebook gives you the best trails for both day hikes and overnight backpacking trips in the state.