Petrifed Forest
As one approaches the sea on the road leading from Aghios Nikolaos to the little fishing inlet of Profitis Ilias, strange shapes are to be seen on the coast. Turning left on an unsurfaced road to Aghia Marina, you come across what seem like sculptured rocks which are in fact fossilised palm trees whose trunks reach up to two metres in hight. These are unique finds in Europe, and according to research by Athens University’s paleontology and paleobotany division, are the result of an original limestone petrification.
Palm trees, their fruit and roots, conifers and shallow water fauna such as molluscs, shellfish and sea urchins were transformed by geological phenomena over millions of years, replacing organic matter with solutions of pyrite and limestone that gradually and patiently went to work under the sea to create the wonder that now forms a Geopark within a European network.
At Aghia Marina (follow the signs) there is a natural mosaic of shellfish, starfish, shells, crabs and other fossils. Further east at Korakas is the tallest fossilised tree trunk, which locals call the «Human».
