Is this petrified wood?

[Septarian]

My dad and I have a spot we like to go to where we find a ton of Septarian Nodules as well as these yellow rocks. We can't figure out what these are, as they sort of look like wood, but they're the wrong color to be petrified wood and are fragile and like to crumble apart if you're not careful. What are these?

 

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[vpnavy]

I noticed this was your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard Septarian! Take a look at Sub-Forums: Montana for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to your state.

 

[Septarian]

Anybody?

 

[T.C.]

My dad and I have a spot we like to go to where we find a ton of Septarian Nodules as well as these yellow rocks. We can't figure out what these are, as they sort of look like wood, but they're the wrong color to be petrified wood and are fragile and like to crumble apart if you're not careful. What are these?

Welcomne to TNET!!

It doesn't appear to be petrified wood. I haven't a clue what it is, but it's pretty cool. Hang in there, one of the experts will come along and identify it for you...

 

[DDancer]

How hard is it? Looks like a dendrite formation.

 

[Upnorth42]

It looks nothing like any petrified wood I have ever seen before. I don't think it is petrified wood.

 

[Rookster]

Welcome to Tnet from Mississippi.

 

[Plumbata]

Hello and welcome! It is highly unlikely to be petrified wood, and to me looks like partially dissolved (or re-deposited, as with stalactites) limestone. Them being fragile makes me think they are re-deposited formations, like what one sees around mineral springs. Got any pictures of the septarian nodules?

 

[Septarian]

Here are some of the Septarian Nodules we've found



These are mostly complete

The smaller pieces look really good once they are wet

 

[Plumbata]

Cool finds, looks like a fun material to collect thanks for sharing the pictures. I'm not a geologist but calcite-rich septarian nodules must have formed in an area saturated with the stuff, so it makes sense that evaporative secondary deposits of calcium carbonate are found in the area. A quick acid test ought to tell if that's what the rocks in question are.

 

[Septarian]

I didn't have hydrochloric/muriatic acid to test with so I had to use vinegar, but it definitely still bubbled on several samples. It makes sense though, as the area was once the shoreline of the Western Interior Seaway, so there were a lot of shells to provide calcite. A lot of the septarian nodules we've found actually have shell imprints or chunks of shells in them.