Excursions from Sarmiento

José Ormachea Petrified Forest

Heading southwest and after 38 km. of dirt road you will reach this natural reserve that you can visit with the guidance of the Park Rangers. There is also an exhibition area and various services.

This forest is a geological park of the Paleocene era (Lower tertiary), with an approximate age of 65 million years.

The deep surrounding depressions in the ground still hold vestiges of the time when that area of Patagonia was full of forests such as dinosaurs fossils, mollusc shells and Red Stones (strange rocky formations).

The petrified wood is part of a process of millions of years. At the beginning of the tertiary era, The Andes Mountain Range began to rise blocking the humid currents of the Pacific Ocean towards the east.

At the same time volcanic eruptions occurred spreading lava and ashes, covering the forests and starting a slow organic transformation process that continued until the molecular structure was altered. After that the winds eroded the terrain already dry until leaving incredible fossils out in the open. The result is a lunar landscape that you cannot miss.

The total itinerary of the excursion is 40 km.