Fluorescent Petrified Wood - Anderson Uranium Mine, Yavapai County, Arizona, USA

The Anderson Mine sits in the Date Creek Basin of west-central Arizona, an area better known to geologists for its extensive uranium deposits than for fossils. The uranium here formed in an ancient lacustrine (lake-bottom) environment, where organic material — including wood — settled into anoxic, silica-rich sediments and was gradually replaced by opaline silica during early diagenesis. In the process, some of that fossilized wood became intimately associated with the same secondary uranium minerals that made this basin one of the largest uranium resources in the United States.

That geological history is what makes this specimen so unusual. Rather than a "clean" petrified wood specimen, this piece carries trace uranium mineralization absorbed into the silicified wood structure itself, which produces a visible fluorescent response under ultraviolet light — often a yellow-green glow characteristic of secondary uranyl minerals, standing out sharply against the non-fluorescent surrounding matrix. It's a genuine crossover piece, sitting at the intersection of paleontology, fluorescent mineral collecting, and radioactive mineral collecting all at once.

For collectors who enjoy pieces with a story, this specimen offers a tangible link between an ancient forest and one of the more significant uranium deposits in American mining history. As with all our radioactive specimens, please review our shipping and handling guidelines before purchase, as availability is restricted based on destination.

*Please note: This specimen is fluorescent best under Midwave (310 nm) UV wavelengths.*

Specimen Details:

Approx. specimen size: 100mm x 80mm x 45mm

Approx. specimen weight: 459 grams