Many people don't realize that there is a petrified tree at Yellowstone National Park... and it is still standing. It's located not far from Mammoth Hot Springs and I was fortunate to be able to photograph it in pleasant early evening light.

You may notice the wrought iron fence in the background; this actually surrounds the tree, to keep visitors away. This is necessary because there actually used to be three petrified trees here. The other two were carried away by tourists, one piece at a time. Each likely said "I'll only take one small piece, what will that harm?" Multiply that innocent-seeming sentiment by hundreds of thousands of tourists over the years, and pretty soon it's all gone...

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