The Petrified Forest is located about 50 km west of Khorixas and exists in an old river channel that is described as “an occurrence of fossilised trees”. The Petrified Forest was proclaimed a national monument in 1950.
Here visitors can see the remains of trees that were washed to the site by massive floods approximately 280 million years ago, as well as living specimens of the Welwitschia mirabilis.
The trees were uprooted millions of years ago and swept along by rivers in flood, covered by sediments and then subsequently uncovered by erosion again.
This flood also carried a lot of sand and mud which covered the trees to such an extent that air intrusion was prevented and consequently no decay took place. The organic material of the trunks was conserved.