Plaka Petrified Forest Park

The Plaka Petrified Forest Park was created over 70 stremmas on the small namesake peninsula, about 800 m south of the settlement. Important plant fossils have been uncovered at this site. Pine relatives and a great variety of fruit-bearing plants (angiosperms) have been identified—far more diverse than at any other terrestrial site—thus composing the vegetation landscape on Lesvos 20 million years ago. Also found were plant fossils corresponding to today’s pine, cinnamon and laurel trees, poplar, plane, and palm species. Among the finds is the gigantic petrified trunk, belonging to the Lauraceae family, considered the largest standing trunk in the world. Part of its root system was revealed at the base, confirming it remains in the exact spot where the tree grew before it was petrified.