Petrified trunks
In place.
The Palaeobotanical Garden in the town of Mata, west of Santa Maria in Rio Grande do Sul, is a 36,000-square-metre fossil reserve showing petrified tree trunks in their original position, dating from the Late Triassic more than two hundred million years ago, in the Caturrita geological formation. It is listed as national heritage. The whole town of Mata is known for its petrified wood: pieces of it turn up in some pavements and walls, and it is described as the town where wood turned to stone. It lies in a fossil-rich region around Santa Maria that is famous worldwide for discoveries of dinosaurs and early reptiles. In the garden visitors walk among huge trunks turned to stone, coloured by the minerals that replaced the wood, and see how forests looked millions of years ago. The town also has small fossil museums that can be added to the visit. It is about an hour's drive from Santa Maria.
In place.
Fossils in the streets.
Local fossils.
Rua do Sertão 67, Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
More than two hundred million years, from the Late Triassic.