National Fossil Wood Park - Sathanur - Tamilnadu

The Fossil Forest National Park is a unique and fascinating place that offers visitors the opportunity to explore the ancient history of the world. The park is dedicated to the discovery and preservation of fossil trees, giving a great insight into the geological history of the world. The park is of geological importance due to its extensive collection of fossil tree specimen that are around 20 million years old. By visiting the park, you will have the opportunity to see these fossils up close and learn about the geological processes that led to their formation. The park is a quiet and picturesque place surrounded by trees that tourists can visit. Walking the path of the park allows you to immerse yourself in nature and enjoy the surroundings while admiring the remains of ancient fossilized trees scattered throughout the area. This is a must visit place for those who are interested in geology and paleontology.

Geological study shows that more than 120,000,000 years ago, the sea (which lies today at about 100 kms East of Sathanur) had transgressed as far as 8 to 10 kms west of Sathanur. During this period which is geologically known as the Cretaceous, the sea abounded with a variety of marine animals similar to those found in the oceans of present day. These marine fauna sank to the bottom after death and were buried by sands and clays brought down by rivers. Along with them, some of the trees which flourished on the coast or near sea-shores were also buried, after being transported by flooded streams and were petrified in course of time. One such large trunk of petrified tree, which can be seen here, lies within the Tiruchirappalli group of rocks of about 100,000,000 years ago. This tree shows the presence of Conifers (Non-flowering plants) which dominated the land vegetation of that era which thrived prior to the advent of angiosperms (Plants of the present day).