Oregon FossilsOregon Fossils

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

Lindsey RuschLindsey Rusch

John Day Fossil BedsJohn 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/joda/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Where in Oregon?Where in Oregon?

A larger map showing the area, compared to where we are in Portland.http://geology.com/cities-map/oregon.shtml

John Day Fossil BedsJohn 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?id=Travels0308.html

Geologic Time ScaleGeologic Time Scale

http://www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=1650&articleTypeId=0

Well known for this era, but we have evidence of older species also.

If you were to visit… you would seeIf 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.

How did this area form?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?id=Travels0308.html

Review - Types of FossilsReview - Types of Fossils

• Body part: (rare to find complete animalfossils) fossilized remains of body parts of organism• Trace : records of biologicalactivity i.e. footprints, burrows• Cast: leaves, twigsThe 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_fossil#Classification

What do we find in John Day?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

You can visit, but don’t touch!You can visit, but don’t touch!

• If you find one, notify the park ranger!

• Record location

• Layers of strata tell us how old it is

4 Strata of John Day4 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?id=Travels0308.html

More from John Day…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

And many more…And many more…

• Eusmilus: leopard like carnivore

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusmilis

Eocene Era Plant ExampleEocene 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

Make your own fossilMake your own fossilMaterials• Ziploc of plaster (mix 1 tablespoon water + plaster in cup)• Plastic spoon• Paper plate• Cup• Leaf

1. 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.

2. Press leaf evenly onto plaster like a stamp. Be careful not to touch the plaster! If you do, wash hands quickly.

3. Leave leaf on plaster to set for 7-10 minutes.4. Word search! Work alone or with a friend. Take it home if you don’t 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.

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

1. 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/Image:Pbjohnday-d.gif