Giant Logs

Large, colorful pieces of petrified wood at Giant Logs

NPS Photo/Hallie Larsen

Quick Facts

Location:

Giant Logs is part of Rainbow Forest in Petrified Forest National Park.

Significance:

Part of the original national monument of 1906.

Amenities

26 listed

Accessible Sites, Automated External Defibrillator (AED), Benches/Seating, Fire Extinguisher, First Aid Kit Available, Gifts/Souvenirs/Books, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Information - Maps Available, Information - Park Newspaper Available, Information - Ranger/Staff Member Present, Information Kiosk/Bulletin Board, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Picnic Table, Recycling, Restroom, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Tactile Exhibit, Toilet - Vault/Composting, Trailhead, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Water - Bottle-Filling Station, Water - Drinking/Potable, Wheelchair Accessible

Giant Logs is part of Rainbow Forest in Petrified Forest National Park. Once an ancient log jam in a Late Triassic river, Giant Logs was the heart of the original national monument set aside in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. This area is located behind the Rainbow Forest Museum. Rainbow Forest was first called the Third Forest (based on tours leaving the once closest town of Adamana). An interpretive trail passes through the area and major features include some of the largest, most colorful petrified logs, Old Faithful log, and the Mather Plaque. There is a booklet available at the museum that corresponds to the numbered posts on the trail. There is a nearby geocache, seasonal drinking fountain, and wayside exhibit as well as the museum.

Giant Logs is geologically in the Rainbow Forest bed of the Sonsela Member (mostly sandstone and conglomerate with some mudstones) of the Chinle Formation. The Sonsela Member contains the majority of the petrified wood deposits in the park and was deposited between 219-213 million years ago.