Petrified Forest of Lesvos

The Petrified Forest of Lesvos is one of the most fascinating and rare monuments of geological heritage in the world. Its creation, 20.000 000 year ago is connected with the intense volcanic activity in the Aegean during the Miocene period.

The petrified forest of Lesvos was formed from the fossilized remains of plants, which can be found in many localities on the western part of Lesvos Island. The area enclosed by the villages of Eressos, Antissa and Sigri is very dense in fossilized tree trunks and forms the Petrified Forest of Lesvos, which is managed by the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest. Isolated plant fossils can be found in many other parts of the island, including the villages of Molyvos, Polichnitos, Plomari and Akrasi.

Petrified forest of Lesvos is a major geosite of "Lesvos Geopark"

In 1985, the forest was declared a Protected Natural Monument.

The Petrified forest of Lesvos, as of Spring 2014, was proposed for UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites.

Source: wikipedia.org,  www.lesvosmuseum.gr