When Crystal Forest Was a Forest

When Crystal Forest Was a Forest. Petrified Forest. Think of a word to describe the semi-arid grassland in front of you. Is it lush, green, or forested? No, but those would be accurate descriptions for this land during the Triassic Period. At that time, this area resided on the supercontinent Pangea at approximately 10° north of the equator, the same latitude as present day Costa Rica. As Pangea broke apart, the North American continent drifted northward., Some 218 million years later, Crystal Forest is at 35° north latitude. The Colorado Plateau uplifted slowly over millions of years, raising the park land about a mile above sea level. This is why the park is so arid today. If Crystal Forest had not moved and uplifted it would still be a forest, much like the rain forest of Costa Rica., Drawing Parallels , Environmental conditions influence ecological niches. Because of their similar environments, the animals that lived in Triassic-era Crystal Forest filled very similar ecological niches to animals that live in present day Costa Rica., . Eating up the insects prevalent in a rain forest, aetosaurs and armadillos have a common food source. , . Requiring water for all aspects of life, metoposaurs and modern amphibians rely on similar wet habitats. , . The most straightforward parallel is between dinosaurs and their direct descendants, birds. , . As dual land and water predators, phytosaurs and crocodiles share similar body forms.