The Petrified Forest of Lesvos
Lesvos, between 15 and 20 million years ago, was covered with tropical and subtropical forests, which were unique for Greece. This singular vegetation was the result of many underground deposits of water which the island still has today, but was primarily due to the active volcanoes which existed then. These rain-forests, with the enormous trees, were suddenly covered with lava and volcanic ash, after intense volcanic activity. Lava and volcanic ash petrified the trunks of the trees and the plants and animals that were covered. In the NW part of the island exist- in an area of 40,000 acres- the petrified trees that have survived to the present. The petrified trees are made up mainly of quartz and opal, while the characteristics of the trees such as the growth rings, are easy to see. The Petrified Forest has been proclaimed a ???Monument of Nature Subject to Preservation?? and most of it is open to the visitors.