Lesbos’ petrified forest

Lesbos’ petrified forest is UNESCO protected site spanning across 15,000 hectares of land in Lesbos, a Greek island in the northeastern Aegean sea. The site is the result of a volcanic eruption that occurred around 20 million years ago and engulfed the island’s subtropical forest ecosystem with lava. For the first time since the excavation was initiated in 1995, a well-preserved 19 m long fossilised tree was discovered, complete with branches and roots.