A Facet of America
The Navajo and Apache counties of North Eastern Arizona are the home of the famous Petrified Forest National Park. In 1962, the Petrified Forest was made a national park in a bid to protect the rich history found in the forest. The semi-desert climate of the Petrified Forest provides a beautiful scenery that includes colorful eroded badlands. However, the history of the forest is found in the fossil remains of fallen trees that are believed to have grown more than 225 million years ago. However, the management of the Petrified Forest National Park has been facing a challenge, with visitors picking the rainbow-hued fossils and carrying them out of the park.
Figure 1: The Petrified Forest of the Northeastern Arizona has been facing the risk of losing its historical significance (Kat Eschner)
The carrying of fossil remains out of the national park poses a risk of a destroyed historical site with time. The main aim of making the forest a national park was to protect the original history of the forest. Without proper protection, America may lose one of the most crucial tourist attraction sites. Therefore, the behavior of some visitors has been blamed for the slowly fading picture of the Petrified Forest National Park.
Although most tourists have been kind enough to return the mistakenly carried material, putting the material back to their original sites has not been possible. In the events where children have carried the material without their parents, the parents have been kind to return the material to the management authorities. The management may put all the efforts required to restore the original picture of the Petrified Forest, but the efforts may not bear the desired fruits.
In sum, the fading picture of the Petrified Forest has been associated with the high number of visitors visiting the site. Visitors have been blamed for moving out of the park with fossil materials that a crucial in maintaining the original form of the Petrified Forest.
Works Cited
Eschener, Kat. “Another Weird Facet of America’s Strangest National Park: The Conscience Pile.” Smart News (2016).