It can be difficult to sort out the things that obviously don't line up with a Biblical timeline of the earth's age, but the park nonetheless gives you a fascinating perspective into what Eastern Washington used to be like.
At some point in the past, Eastern Washington used to be a more lush landscape. At that time the Cascade Mountain Range either didn't exist, or they were much lower and the moisture wasn't prevented from reaching the interior as it is today. It would have been a landscape of tall forests, lush plant life, swamps & bogs, and more. Scientists believe that the area today preserved as the state park was probably a log jam instead of an actual grove of ancient trees, due to the immense spectrum of tree species that have been discovered (Possibly a result of Noah's Flood, I can't help but wonder).
Today petrified elm, oak, douglas fir, redwood, sweet gum, walnut, and of course the park's namesake ginkgo have all been found here. It is unlikely that all this variety grew in this one location.
At some point after this the series of cataclysms that shaped Eastern Washington into what we know today, began. It's just my opinion that, based on a post Noah's Flood world, the resulting events happened. Plate tectonic forces were created after the "fountains of the deep" broke open. That led to the creation of the Cascade Mountain Range. Lava spewed all across the Pacific Northwest. As the mountains got higher, the interior became drier. Scientists think that as the lava poured across Eastern Washington, the big log jam at Ginkgo State Park was protected from the lava by the bog environment. The lava cooled rapidly from the high water content and effectively sealed the logs underneath.
As layer upon layer of lava continued to pile up, minerals percolated down to the logs and the process of petrification began. The lack of oxygen allowed the minerals to penetrate and transform the logs into stone. Today they are solid rock, but retain their wood grain structure.
At some point another great change in Earth's history occurred. Again, it's my opinion that in the post flood world one of the results was the ever changing weather and climate. We still feel the effects today, but not as extreme as right after the flood. The evidence is undeniable that great ice ages did occur: scientists just don't agree on the timeline of them. I prefer to look at it from a biblical perspective, of course.
In this new frozen world of North America, giant ice dams were formed. All across Washington, Idaho, and Montana the evidence of this lake/lakes can be seen. As the lakes filled up the ice dams eventually broke, resulting in massive floods across the Pacific Northwest. The processes was repeated again and again. The massive flood waters scoured away the landscape forming the step-lands & coulees all across Eastern Washington.
How does this relate to Ginkgo Petrified Forest? It just so happened that as the flood waters stripped away the deep layers of basalt laid down by the volcanic eruptions, they eventually cut down to the layer in which the preserved trees were buried.
Fast forward to 1927 when construction workers who were working on building highways noticed exposed sections of the petrified trees. This led to further scientific study and excavations. During the Great Depression the Civilian Conservation Corps handled a lot of the excavations, trail & museum building, and opening the area up to the public in 1938. Today is is much the same and you can come and tour the landscape and get a glimpse for yourself into Washington's fascinating history & geology.
And of course, this only wets my appetite for discovering more about Eastern Washington's unique topography and seeing more of the landscape that was sculpted by this immense floods that probably occurred at the same time many of the stories in the Bible were taking place. I'm sure there will be more adventures into the dry interior of Washington to come...
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