Oregon Fossils This lesson is intended for 5th grade students, as a one day lesson, and part of a larger section on fossils and rocks. Students would already have an idea what fossils are

1
Oregon FossilsThis lesson is intended for 5th
grade students, as a one day lesson, and part of
a larger section on fossils and rocks. Students
would already have an idea what fossils are

• Lindsey Rusch

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John Day Fossil Beds
The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is
located in North Eastern Oregon, and is divided
into three separate units. http//www.nps.gov/jod
a/planyourvisit/maps.htm
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Where in Oregon?
A larger map showing the area, compared to where
we are in Portland.
http//geology.com/cities-map/oregon.shtml
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John Day Fossil Beds

• Well known for preserved plants and animals of
  Cenozoic Era (a.k.a. Age of Mammals and Flowering
  Plants)
• Record of 40 million of the 65 million years of
  that Era
• http//www.geotimes.org/mar08/article.html?idTra
  vels0308.html

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Geologic Time Scale
Well known for this era, but we have evidence of
older species also.
http//www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id1650art
icleTypeId0
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If you were to visit you would see
National Park Service
The painted hills of John Day Fossil Beds National Memorial are filled with fossils from millions of years ago.
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How did this area form?

• Layers of rock form fossil beds - deposited from
  volcanic eruptions many years ago
• 30 million years ago, strong winds blew ash
  across grasslands, marshlands and forests
  covering animals
• Now, thunderstorms each year cause erosion and
  uncover 100 different mammal species

http//www.geotimes.org/mar08/article.html?idTrav
els0308.html
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Review - Types of Fossils

• Body part (rare to
• find complete animal
• fossils) fossilized remains
• of body parts of organism
• Trace records of biological
• activity i.e. footprints, burrows
• Cast leaves, twigs
• The word fossil, derived from a Latin word
  meaning "something dug up"

http//www.oregongeology.com/sub/learnmore/fossils
.HTM http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trace_fossilCla
ssification
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What do we find in John Day?

• Jungle plants
• Mammals
• Amphibians
• Reptiles
• For a detailed species list
• http//www.nps.gov/archive/joda/faunaslist.htm

Cretaceous Era 100 Millions Years Ago This is a
coiled shell mollusk called ammonite. Dinosaurs
in this area it was a rugged beach!
http//www.paleolands.org/find/time/here/C51
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You can visit, but dont touch!

• If you find one, notify the park ranger!
• Record location
• Layers of strata tell us how old it is

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4 Strata of John Day

• CLARNO strata rocks formed 50-35 mya - nuts,
  seeds, leaves, banana tree, brontothere,
  amyodonts (giant horses and rhino like animals),
  tropical forest
• JOHN DAY UNIT STRATA 37 mya,deciduous forests
  and relatives of wolves, pigs, rodents, horses
  camels, rhinos
• MASCALL 20 mya, lava divides this and John Day
  unit, took 5 years for lava to cool and plants to
  regrow, massive grazers like rhinos and extinct
  bear dogs, warm wet grasslands
• RATTLESNAKE FORMATION youngest, 8 mya, horses,
  sloths, camels, pronghorns, rhinos, drier climate

http//www.geotimes.org/mar08/article.html?idTrav
els0308.html
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More from John Day

• Entelodont giant pigs,
• 7 feet tall, bone crushing
• teeth
• Miohippus small horse

dsc.discovery.com/.../photo/photo2/slide_06.html
http//www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/fhc/mioh.htm
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And many more

• Eusmilus leopard like carnivore

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusmilis
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Eocene Era Plant Example

• 57 to 35 million years old plant casts
• Branches caught in mudflow or moving waters. Can
  also be found settled in lakes or ponds.

http//www.paleolands.org/find/time/here/C51
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Make your own fossil

• Materials
• Ziploc of plaster (mix 1 tablespoon water
  plaster in cup)
• Plastic spoon
• Paper plate
• Cup
• Leaf
• Mix plaster and water in cup. Should be thick
  like pancake batter. Spread onto plate evenly
  with spoon. Be very careful not to get plaster
  near your face.
• Press leaf evenly onto plaster like a stamp. Be
  careful not to touch the plaster! If you do, wash
  hands quickly.
• Leave leaf on plaster to set for 7-10 minutes.
• Word search! Work alone or with a friend. Take it
  home if you dont finish today.
• CLEAN UP do not put extra plaster down the
  drain! Dispose of in garbage only. You may wash
  your hands using the sink.

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How is my fossil like the ones we might find in
Eastern Oregon?

• How Do Fossils Form?
•     The plaster of Paris is like mud and stones
  that get deposited over leaves or animal remains,
  but the mud takes millions of years to turn into
  stone that we see as a fossil. This particular
  type of fossil is called a cast.
• Other fossils form when animal or plant remains
  are buried in rock, mud, tar, volcanic ash or
  ice. They all take millions of years to form.
• Some fossils are actual remains found in ice,
  amber tar pits, or sedimentary rocks.
• http//starryskies.com/try_this/fossil2.html

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• Sabre-toothed "tiger" Pogonodon
• 2. Oreodont Eporeodon
• 3. Three-toed "horse" Miohippus
• 4. Tortoise Stylemys
• 5. Mouse-deer Hypertragulus
• 6. "Dog" Mesocyon
• 7. Oreodont Promerycocherus
• 8. "Rhinoceros" Diceratherium
• 9. Chestnut oak Quercus
• 10. Hawthoren Crataegus
• 11. Fern Polypodium
• 12. Hackberry Celtis
• 13. "Maple" Acer

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImagePbjohnday-d.gif