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Between 11-15 million years ago, during the Miocene time period, a volcano located near what is now called McDermitt, Oregon erupted, spewing ash and debris over a widespread area. That ash, contained a combination of iron, aluminium, potassium, sodium and calcium, which covered everything for miles around, including shallow wetlands. Cattails, fish, amphibians and all other life in those wetlands (bogs) were suffocated by the ash and immediately there began a permineralization / petrification process, whereas the cellular structure of the living organisms in the bogs were combined and replaced with the ash covering them.
