The Petrified Forest of Puyango, known worldwide as the largest petrified wood deposit in the world; It is a
great geological reserve in the extreme south of Ecuador. Puyango
was formerly a sea; the oldest fossils correspond to marine organisms.
This sea dried up and became grown over by forests with their fauna,
some of which became petrified. These remains surfaced again as a result
fo the rising of the Andes. The youngest fossils are about 60
million years old and the oldest date back 500 million years.
Most petrified trees belong to the Araucarioxylon genus and are
about 100 million years old; The largest specimen is 2 m in diameter and
15 m in length. There are also fossils of leaves corresponding to four
genera of primitive plants resembling ferns and palms. According to Dr.
Robert E. Shoemaker the paleobotanist who discovered and studied the
area from 1975 - 1976, the number of petrified trunks contained in such
a compact area represent one of the largest collections of this type in
the world, comparable to Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park in the
USA.
A rather inconspicuous entrance hides a great little
reserve.
Visitor center: Locations of the 3
principle petrified forests in the Americas.
How to get
there
The reserve is located, on the banks of the Puyango River at 111 km from
Machala and 280 km from the city of Loja.
Conservation status
The Petrified Forest of Puyango was
legally declared a protected forest by ministerial decree No. 002
on January 9, 1987, totalling 2658 ha of which only about 100 ha
are fully protected with a vegetation recovery program. The rest of the
area is privately owned.
On August 15, 2002, in the context of
decentralization, deconcentration and transfer of functions, powers,
responsibilities, management and control was transferred to the
Provincial Council of Loja.
The walk
The guided walk takes anywhere between half an hour and an hour. Some
fossils are found on the banks of a stream with clean and clear water,
where you will find enormous trunks that correspond to the Jurassic
period which had its greatest development about 120 billion years ago.
The trail head starting at the visitor center.
At only 5 minutes walk there is an
overlook along a creek, where several fossils have been
washed up.
One of the larger trunks along the creek.
Along the creek one finds fossil prints of tree leaves.
The site with the greatest number
of fallen fossil trees.
A different un-identified fossil tree species.
At the end of the trail, is of one of the largest and best preserved
petrified trees in the entire reserve with an approximate original
length of 80 meters by about 8 meters in diameter, about one third of
which you will find on the ground.
The Giant, an enormously tall and wide tree is the
highlight of the reserve.
The Giant showing its full visible length.
Climate
The forest is located between 360 and 500
meters above sea level and has an average temperature of 22.5 °C.
The vegetation is a typical tropical
seasonally deciduous forest with very little rainfall during the dry
season from May to December. Most of the yearly 900mm of rainfall falls
between January to April. While officially recommended for visiting
during the dry season, I don't agree at all. During the wet season the
forest is beautifully green, and a bit of a drizzle should not spoil
your joy. So, visiting year around is my recommendation.
Flora
Some enormeous petrinos trees,
Cavanillesia Platanifolia, of which the tallest, the about 300 year
old "Giant", stands 35 m tall and 2 m at the base. Other conspicuous
trees are ceibos, potos,
guapala, pechiche, hualtaco, puyangos, guayacanes, laureles, guasimos,
caciques, cedros, palo santo, higuerón, limoncillo, almendro, etc. Small
trees and shrubs include:
amancay, bejucos, orquídeas, chaquiro, pastos, ortiga, matico and mortiño,
many of which flower in the dry season with abundant flowers.
The roots of a Petrinos Tree.
Petrinos trees have superficial rings that grow every few
years.
The tallest petrinos tree of the reserve.
The widest petrinos tree of the Petrified Forest of Puyango
Reserve.
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