Florissant Fossil Beds, N.M. CO

Sept 16-17, 1998

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What is a fossil? It is a clue or evidence of past life. At Florissant Fossil Beds, we saw examples of plant and animal life that existed about 34 million years ago during the late Eocene Epoch. This stop was out of order in our study of the time line of life on earth, but we learned how fossils are created and preserved for so many years.

35 million years ago, Colorado was a hot, humid place where numerous Redwood, palm and magnolia trees grew. Volcanic eruptions caused massive mud slides which partially buried the trees. Later, Lake Florrisant formed over the area, causing the roots and tops of the trees to rot. But the portion of the trees that were buried in mud and volcanic ash were preserved and petrified as the silicates in the ash seeped into and replaced the tree cells.

Poisonous gases from the volcano instantly killed many insects and other animals. Their bodies fell to the bottom of the lake and were covered with ash. This process occurred many times, creating the many fossil-rich layers of shale in the Florissant area. It's like a picture book of history.

There are many Fossil Bed National Monuments: (See below for additional resources you can buy online)

• Florissant Fossil Beds NM
• Agate Fossil Beds NM
• Fossil Butte NM
• Hagerman Fossil Beds NM
• John Day Fossil Beds NM

Harv was our ranger guide. He took us on a tour of the petrified redwood stumps in the park.

We hiked to see the largest stump of the petrified forest, "The Big Stump." It's a redwood tree, with a circumference of about 38 feet. Harrison learned that redwoods and sequoias are the same thing. Amanda learned that this stump weighs about 200,000 pounds and that in 1884 some men tried to saw it into pieces so they could move it, but they gave up after 4 steam saw blade were stuck in the rock-like wood.

We couldn't dig fossils at the National Monument, but we were able to study many. Harrison remembers seeing lots of insects, leaves and the tiny redwood cones.

This is a fossil of a wasp. Florissant Fossil Beds are important in the world of paleontology because insect fossils are rare. But because of the fine powdery ash that fell here, thousands of insects have been gently preserved, including 15 of the 20 butterflies ever found in the U.S.

We went on a fossil hunt of our own at a nearby commercial site. Harrison found a fragment of a pine tree between layers of shale.

We all found some fossils. Amanda found lots of tiny plant parts (leaves, bark, seeds, etc.), while Mom found a complete leaf and Dad found the most with an inch-long insect wing, a couple tiny flies, and a large leaf.

Resources
Try out some of these recommendations for your own learning activities.
Everytime you purchase something from one of our merchants you help keep Learning Family going. Thanks!

Dinosaur Lake--The Story of the Purgatoire Valley Tracksite
by Martin G. Lockley, Barbara J. Fillmore, Marquardt Lori

We looked into going to the Purgatoire site when we entered Colorado, but we were told that the location is on a military base and needed advanced permission. It would have been great, as it is one of the best tracksites in the world.

Eyewitness: Fossil
by Paul D. Taylor, Colin Keates (Photographer)

Full of photographs, this is a great book if you want to learn about the importance of fossils, what different kinds there are, and more. There are many examples of some of the more common fossils. Another classic DK book.