A plan is afoot to develop the site of the world’s longest petrified log in Tak province into a world-class geological tourism destination, according to the government.
The 69.7-metre-long log on July 8 officially earned Guinness World Records certification as the longest fossilised tree trunk in the world.
First discovered in Doi Soi Malai National Park in Ban Tak district in 2003, the log was 72.22m long at the time, equivalent to the height of a 20-storey building, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.
But subsequent flooding at the excavation site damaged the log’s tip and shortened the length to 69.7m.
The ministry believed the petrified wood to be of the Thong Bueng (kempas) tree species commonly found in rainforests, and about 120,000 years old.
The log is 4.8 metres in diameter at its base and 1.8m around the middle section.
Varawut Silpa-archa, the natural resources and environment minister, said the ministry planned to create a world-class geological tourism attraction at the site.
The petrified log bears unique features worthy of being preserved for study and research. It was officially declared a protected fossil site in 2016.
The Guinness World Records recognition will encourage young people to learn more about geology and will stimulate the local economy once the area becomes a tourism site, the minister said.
The Guinness certification was the first for Thailand in the field of natural heritage, he added.
An exhibition related to the certification was held last week, with Acting Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon attending prior to the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
