Akal Wood Fossil Park is a protected paleontological site in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan. It is a declared Biodiversity Heritage Site and National Geological Monument. The park is spread over approximately and preserves petrified trees and plant fossils dating to 180 Ma.
Geography The protected paleontological site, spread over , is located on a barren hillside, about southeast of Jaisalmer in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan. The park forms part of Jaisalmer's fossil belt, a region which has yielded several fossils including that of dinosaurs, and sharks.
Administration The park was declared as a National Geological Monument by the Geological Society of India in 1972. It was administered and maintained by the Geological Society of India till 1985, when it was handed over to the Forest Department of Government of Rajasthan. The park is maintained by the authorities of the Desert National Park. The state government had developed the park into a geotourism site.
Fossils The Akal Wood Fossil Park contains about a dozen fossilised wooden logs and petrified tree trunks lying horizontally in random orientations. The longest preserved tree trunk measures long and wide. The fossil assemblage includes Pterophyllum, Ptilophyllum, Equisetites species, dicotyledonous wood and gastropod shells, along with other invertebrate remains such as ammonites. Most of the fossilised logs are protected with iron-grill cages and metal-sheet roofing.
Geology The fossils occur in the Lathi Formation of Lower Jurassic age, dating to about 180 Ma. The petrified wood indicate that the trees were once part of lush green forests thriving in a warm, and humid environment. The presence of gastropod remains indicate a nearby marine ecosystem. The rapid burial of the organic remains in sediments of the then-existing sea facilitated their preservation, and the organic remains were replaced by silica, preserving the life forms.
See also National Fossil Wood Park, Tiruvakkarai National Fossil Wood Park, Sathanur Rajmahal hills Shivalik Fossil Park
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