Avid collectors of petrified wood are familiar with the Miocene aged golden colored opalized oak from Stinking Water near Burns, Oregon. Opalized oak with striking similarities to this famous deposit can be found in major museums located in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, but with labels indicating they were collected from Clover Creek in Lincoln County, Idaho. Museums seemed unaware of the story behind their amazing Clover Creek opalized oak. Read the following stories to learn more about how this museum mystery was finally solved.

Opalized Wood from Clover Creek, Gooding County, Idaho

Multi-Stage Silicification of Pliocene Wood: Re-Examination of an 1895 Discovery from Idaho, USA.

Explore our on-going research project to identify Clover Creek Oak specimens archived in museums around the world.

Locating Museum Clover Creek Opalized Oak Specimens

An Opalized Oak from Clover Creek, Lincoln County, Idaho c.1895: The Provenance and Collecting History of Quercinium pliocaenicum.

Ein fossiler Eichenholzstamm mit Kernfäule?

Opalized Wood from Clover Creek, Idaho: How an 1895 Fossil Tree Discovery Became the Standard of Quality for Wood–Opal in Mineralogical Collections