PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA

Carnian Pluvial Event

Two Million Years of Ceaseless Rain—230 Million Years Ago

The Permian Extinction, the greatest extinction in Earth history, was followed by twenty million years of a hot and arid climate. Then the climate suddenly changed.  The concentration of carbon dioxide rose to high levels. The temperature of the oceans increased. Evaporation increased, and so did precipitation. And it began to rain—for about two million years.

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There were mega-monsoons that produced major floods. And the floods raced across the land sweeping up forests. In one particular place the amount of forest debris torn away by floods was immense.  And, from it, was formed what is today the remnants of ancient trees at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.