Explore / South America / Andes
Andes, El Oro
El Oro/Loja
Puyango Petrified Forest, Ecuador
Fossil site Documented siteRestricted
What you could find
Reported finds from this ground.
Petrified wood
FossilsAlso reported: bivalves; small site museum.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Jon Sullivan (Public domain), Partonez (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why this spot
Rockhounding locality: one of South America's largest petrified forests, 100-million-year-old Araucarioxylon trunks and marine fossils in dry forest on the Peruvian border, protected since 1987
Wikipedia confirms the 1987 protected-forest status and the Araucarioxylon trunks up to 15 m long with ammonites and bivalves
Before you go
Hazards noted for this site.
Heat and heavy rain December to AprilRiver crossings on trails, long drive from Machala or Loja
Keep exploring nearby
More spots in this area.