Lone Star Travelers Blog

Lacey Point is named for Iowa Congressman John Fletcher Lacey who was an advocate for protection of public lands.  The Antiquities Act of 1906 which protected “objects of historic or scientific interest” on Federal Land is often referred to as Lacey’s Act.  Petrified Forest National Park, then a National Monument was one of the first areas to be protected under this act.  The Chinle formation of the Late Triassic here is mostly mudstone and claystone.  Notice the striking range of red colors due to the iron present as the Little Colorado River eroded the landscape.  The gray colors are harder rock beds made up of siltstone, sandstone and conglomerate.   

Whipple Point was named for U.S. Army Lt. Amiel Whipple.  In 1853 Lt. Whipple was surveying for a railroad route along the 35th parallel (1 mile South of here) for military and pioneer use.  He passed down the broad, sandy wash below this overlook in December of 1853.  Impressed with the deposits of petrified wood along the banks of the wash, Whipple named it Lithodendron Creek (Lithodendron is Greek for Stone Tree Creek.)  Look down here and you will see petrified wood.