Name: Lindsey Rusch
May 13, 2008
Lab title: Oregon Fossils
Lab Objectives:
 Students will know where to locate John Day Fossil Beds in Oregon
 Students will experiment with how cast fossils are formed, and uncovered in
Oregon
 Students will understand the age of some fossils in Oregon
 Students will make their own fossil
 Students will understand what types of fossils are found in Oregon
 Understand fossils are evidence of living organisms from long ago, and also
possible weather conditions at that time
Benchmarks:
CCG: Diversity/Interdependence:
Understand the relationships among living things and between living things and
their environments.
Materials:
For each student:

paper plate

small cup to mix plaster

measuring spoons
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plastic spoon to mix plaster

plaster of Paris (enough to fill plate) 2-3 tablespoons per student

water 2:1 ratio with plaster (2 tablespsoons plaster, 1 tablespoon water)

natural object that can be used for making a fossil (Note: See description in
Before the Lesson.) Leaves work best.

Fossil Word Search
http://www.nps.gov/joda/forteachers/upload/teacher%20packet.pdf
Procedure:
1. (Optional) On the board or on a sheet of chart paper, write the word fossil and ask
students to define the term. Record their responses. Then have students answer the
following questions to help define the term:
a. What is a fossil?
b. What can become a fossil?
c. How do fossils form?
Go through powerpoint and discuss John Day Fossil beds.
2. Tell students that they will now create their own fossils. Begin by giving each student a
paper plate filled with wet plaster of Paris. Have them take the natural objects that they
brought from home (or that you have provided to them) and press them into the plaster.
Once the impressions have been made, they can remove the objects from the plaster.
Remind the students to be careful not to touch the plaster, as it will need time to harden
and dry. Then ask students to write down some initial observations about their fossils. For
example, they should consider which parts of the objects made very visible impressions
in the plaster, and which ones are harder to see. When they are finished recording their
observations, have students set aside both their fossils and their notes so they can refer to
them later in the lesson. (See website for parts 2 & 3)
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Divide plaster into Ziploc bags, one per student with 2 tablespoons of plaster in
each
Gather up leaves to bring in case students forget, or you want extra
Instruct students to gather a Ziploc with plaster, 1 tablespoon of water into a cup,
a plastic spoon to stir and a paper plate to spread the plaster
Mix plaster and water in the paper cup and spoon out onto paper plate
Press leaf onto plaster and let sit for 7-10 minutes with leaf pressed onto plaster in
one spot
Do word search while leaf sets
Pull off leaf and have students discuss what they see, show slide of how this
experiment relates to real fossils we have found in Oregon
How do they think an animal fossil would look?
3. Have students complete Fossil Word Search about fossils found in John Day at home if
not enough in class time
Before the Lesson
Tell students that they are going to make models of fossils. If students aren't familiar with
the modeling process, you may want to discuss it with them prior to the lesson. They
should have an understanding of how modeling is similar to and different from the actual
process of fossilization.
Ask students to bring in a few natural objects from home to "fossilize"; for example,
twigs, leaves, shells, flower petals, or plant stems. (They will need these for Step 2 of the
lesson.) You may also want to bring in some objects to keep on hand in case extras are
needed.
Just before the lesson, prepare the plaster of Paris so that you can spread the wet mixture
easily onto a paper plate for each student.
Here is the website for this lesson if you want to extend and do all parts. This is only part
1.
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/ess05/sci/ess/earthsys/lp_funfossils/index.html
Materials and Costs:
Almost everything in this lesson we use and throw away since it was in contact with
plaster.
Measuring spoons………………………………………………$1.00 at Dollar Tree
Estimated total, one-time, start-up cost:……..$1-$5 depending how many spoons you
want to have in class
List the consumable supplies and estimated cost for presenting to a class of 30
students
Item ..............................................................................................................$
Art Plaster …………………………………………………………..5 pounds @ $7.49
Water ………………………………………………………………..Free
Paper plates ………………………………………………………….pack of 30 @ $1.50
Plastic Spoons ……………………………………………………….2 sets of 24 @ $1.00
Plastic cups or Dixie Cups…………………………………………..2 boxes @ $1.00
Leaves ……………………………………………………………….Free from yard
Word find ……………………………………………………………Copies are free
Ziploc sandwich bags………………………………………..1 box @ $3.00
Estimated total cost each year:……………………………………….$ 15.99
Time:
Initial prep time: 1 hour to prepare powerpoint and gather supplies
Preparation time: 1 hour to divide plaster into Ziplocs and gather leaves
Instruction time: 30 minutes – could be extended to longer, or another day.
Clean-up time: 10 minutes
Assessment:
Students will pick a fossil from the list on the word search to research and create a
poster to present and hang in class telling about the fossil, where it was found, what
it is, what time period and why it is important for us to understand what happened
to this creature and how we discover them.
Background
COMMON FOSSILS in the John Day Basin
http://www.paleolands.org/find/time/here/C51
CRETACEOUS:
About 100 million years ago, in the heyday of the dinosaurs, this was a rugged beach.
The most abundant inhabitant was a coiled-shell mollusk known at an ammonite. Theses
animals, relatives of the modern chambered nautilus, died out in the same extinction
event that wiped out the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago.
PALEOCENE:
Paleocene fossils, 65-57 million years in age, are rare, but some have been found east of
Pendleton. These plants are even more tropical that the Eocene Clarno plants (below).
Magnolia (?), Paleocene age.
EOCENE:
Mudflows and stream deposits of the Clarno Formation, 57-35 million years old, yield
fossil leaves of subtropical plants. Some of the most common fossil found in the mudflow
deposits are simply casts of branches or limbs caught in fast-moving mudflows. In places
where quieted waters prevailed, (lakes, ponds, and sluggish streams) common fossils
include magnolia leaves, palm fronds and walnuts and walnut leaves. Older Eocene
lakebeds and tuffs can yield bald cyprus needles and wood. Walnut leaf, Clarno
Formation
Cypress leaves, Herren Fm.
OLIGOCENE
The best place to collect fossils in Wheeler County is at the Wheeler High School Fossil
Beds in Fossil. Here, you’ll find well -preserved fossil leaves 32.5 million years old that
fell into a shallow lake. The site is publicly accessible, and the small fee ($3.00) supports
the fossil Public Schools. Common finds include Metasequoia, the Oregon Stat fossil and
a deciduous conifer, a as well as oak, alder, maple, and sycamore leaves.
Metasequoia, Bridge Creek Beds, Wheeler High School Locale.
LINKS/PDFs:
Link to “Fossil Flora of the John Day Basin, Oregon”, a publication by Frank Knowlton,
1902.
Historically interesting, and a foundation for subsequent paleobotany.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/joda/index.htm
Link to current catalogue of most plant fossils recognized on the John Day Fossil Beds
National Monument and other portions of the John Day Basin.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/joda/floraslist.htm
Link to current catalogue of most common animal fossils found at the John Day Fossil
Beds National Monument:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/joda/faunaslist.htm
Clarno Trails
Trail of the Fossils [1/4 mile hike] – This is the only trail in the park where one can
readily see fossils in the rocks. Large boulders strewn below The Palisades cliff contain
hundreds of visible plant fossils from jungle-like forests that blanketed the region about
44 million years ago.
http://www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/clarno-trails.htm
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a 14,000 acre (57 km²) park in eastern
Oregon. Located within the John Day River Basin, this U.S. National Monument is
world-renowned for its well-preserved, remarkably complete record of fossil plants and
animals, a record that spans more than 40 of the 65 million years of the Cenozoic Era
(also known as the Age of Mammals and Flowering Plants). The monument is divided
into three units: Painted Hills (named for the delicately colored stratifications) northwest
of Mitchell, Sheep Rock which is northwest of Dayville, and Clarno which is 20 miles
west of Fossil. Blue Basin is a volcanic ash bowl transformed into claystone by eons of
erosion, colored pastel blue by minerals.
Visitors can follow trails into the badlands and examine fossils displayed at the visitor
center while scientists continue field investigations and the painstaking analysis of the
monument's vast fossil record.
Exploration and study of the John Day fossil beds continues today. In many of the beds,
the fossils are widely scattered, and their occurrence cannot be predicted. Many types of
fossils deteriorate rapidly once erosion exposes them to the elements. Thus the fossil beds
are continually canvassed by paleontologists. Visitors often take rocks as souvenirs,
which is a federal crime.[1]
The fossil beds contain vestiges of the actual soils, rivers, ponds, watering holes,
mudslides, ashfalls, floodplains, middens, trackways, prairies, and forests, in an unbroken
sequence that is one of the longest continuous geological records. The rocks are rich with
the evidence of ancient habitats and the dynamic processes that shaped them; they tell of
sweeping changes in the John Day Basin. Great changes, too, have taken place in this
area's landscape, climate, and in the kinds of plants and animals that have inhabited it.
http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/how_are_fossils_formed.html
Species of Miohippus gave rise to the first burst of diversity in the horse family.
Until Miohippus, there were few side branches, but the descendants of Miohippus
were numerous and distinct. During the Miocene, over a dozen genera existed.
Today, only one genus of horses survives: Equus.
Where & When? Fossils of Miohippus are found at many Oligocene localities in the
Great Plains, the western US and a few places in Florida. Species in this genus lived
from about 32-25 million years ago.
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/fhc/mioh.htm
http://www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/maps.htm
http://geology.com/cities-map/oregon.shtml
Finding fossils in John Day
Mary Caperton Morton
On the surface, the painted hills of
the John Day Fossil Beds National
Memorial in eastern Oregon are
spectacular, but it is what lies
beneath the rolling red landscape
that makes this desert region
famous. Buried within the underlying
layers of volcanic tuff are the world’s
richest fossil beds from the
Cenozoic Era, also known as the
“Age of Mammals.” Fossil beds that
span more than a few million years
are rare. Yet, these layers extend
across more than 40 million years of
history, making the beds at John
Day one of the most complete
records of ancient life anywhere on
Earth — and definitely worth a visit.
National Park Service
The painted hills of John Day Fossil Beds National
The John Day fossil beds lie in the
Memorial are filled with fossils from millions of years ago.
rain shadow east of Oregon’s two
towering mountain ranges, the Coast Range and the Cascades. The mountains to the west are what
make this region an arid desert today, but the layers of rock that formed the fossil beds were actually
deposited from ancient volcanic eruptions to the east long ago. Thirty million years ago, prevailing
winds blew tons of ash onto John Day’s once lush grasslands, marshlands and forests, burying
foraging rhinos, horses and giant ground sloths. Now, every summer, vicious thunderstorms sweep the
region, eroding the fragile aquamarine-colored tuff and washing fossils from more than 100 different
species of mammals from the steep hillsides.
Mary Caperton Morton
Hiking the Island in Time Trail and the Blue Basin Overlook
Trail are great ways to experience the John Day sites and
scenery.
The fossil beds are protected within
the John Day National Monument,
which is divided into three separate
parks: the Painted Hills, Sheep
Rock and the Clarno units. To visit
the beds, start at the Sheep Rock
unit, which lies just northwest of
Mitchell, Ore., which is about two
hours east of Bend. Here you can
visit the park’s main facilities and
fossil museum at the Thomas
Condon Paleontology Center. The
museum features many beautiful
fossils, interactive displays,
audiovisual presentations and even
a window into the park’s
paleontology lab where scientists
prepare and study fossil specimens.
Knowledgeable park rangers and
paleontologists give regular talks
about the displays and geology of
the region and are always willing to
recommend the best hikes to see
the fossil beds firsthand.
Hiking the Blue Basin Overlook Trail, combined with the shorter, adjoining Island in Time Trail, is the
best way to experience both the intrepid geology and spectacular scenery of John Day. Both trails
begin five kilometers west of the museum on Highway 19. The four-kilometer Blue Basin Trail is a loop,
more easily hiked clockwise, that ascends to the top of the basin and overlooks the blue-tinged fossilrich outcrop where most of John Day’s fossils are found. The hike to the top is mildly strenuous, but
rewarding. From here the views of the painted hills and surrounding landscape are breathtaking. The
vantage point also provides a unique view overlooking the 40 million years of history preserved within
the Blue Basin below. The trail then descends into the basin itself, where it meets up with the Island in
Time Trail and explores the fossil outcrops up close. Several specimens, including a turtle shell and a
saber-tooth-tiger-like oreodont skull, are displayed under plastic capsules where they were found
protruding from the hillside. You might also run into a park paleontologist combing the walls of the Blue
Basin for newly exposed fossils.
If you are one of the lucky visitors
who finds a fossil, don’t touch it!
Make note of its location and report
the find to a park ranger as soon as
possible. Recording the exact
location of the fossil within the
layers of strata is just as important
as recovering the fossil itself and
best left to a professional. While the
plethora of large mammal fossils is
perhaps the most exciting relic
found at John Day, the preservation
of the changes in forests and
grasslands in an unbroken
sequence also makes these fossil
beds remarkable. This is one of the
few places in the world where the
evolution of an ancient habitat,
along with the forces that brought
sweeping ecological change, can be
studied. Four distinct ecological eras
divide the strata at John Day, each
with its own unique set of fossils,
which is why recording the exact
location of a fossil find is imperative.
National Park Service
Be sure to stop by the Thomas Condon Paleontology
Center to get an up-close view of some of the many
mammal fossils that have washed out of the hillsides in
this park.
The oldest rocks at John Day, deposited between 50 million and 35 million years ago, make up the
Clarno Formation, best preserved at the Clarno Unit. A bounty of fossilized nuts, seeds, leaves and
other woody structures, including remains from a banana tree, indicates that this region of Oregon was
covered by an evergreen tropical forest during this time period. Fossils of brontotheres and
amynodonts, giant browsers that resemble horses and rhinos, can be found here, none of which left
descendants to modern times. The Clarno strata give way to the John Day Unit strata around 37
million years ago, marked by the invasion of deciduous forests into the region. Recognizable mammals
make their appearance here, including ancient relatives of wolves, pigs, large cats, horses, camels,
rhinos and rodents. Thick deposits of basaltic lava mark the interval between the John Day and
Mascall formations, starting around 20 million years ago. It took about 5 million years for the area to
cool and regrow into warm, wet savannah grasslands with pockets of hardwood forests. Animals found
here include massive grazers like gomphotheres (elephant-like creatures), rhinos and extinct beardogs. The youngest strata making up the Rattlesnake Formation begin around 8 million years ago.
Here the climate became much drier with the rise of the great modern mountain ranges to the west,
killing off the forests and allowing the grasslands to expand. Grazing mammals like horses,
pronghorns, sloths, rhinos, camels and peccaries dominate the fossil layers during this time period.
Dozens of hiking trails snake
through the park and river rafting
and fishing for bass and trout on
Service Creek are also popular
ways to enjoy this beautiful region of
eastern Oregon. Whether you are a
fossil buff, a maven of deep
geologic history, a river rat or a lover
of spectacular desert scenery, the
John Day fossil beds have
something to offer everybody.
To get to John Day, which is in the
middle of the vast eastern Oregon
desert, drive northeast from Bend
on scenic Highway 26. The route
passes many notable natural
attractions, including Smith Rock
State Park, a rock climber’s
Mary Caperton Morton
paradise. Rustic park service
campgrounds abound south of the
Dozens of hiking trails snake through the park and due to
highway, and Clyde Holliday
summer and winter temperatures that can reach extremes,
Recreation Area, near the town of
spring and fall are the best times to visit.
John Day, has full RV hookups,
yurts and cabin rentals. Desert temperatures can be stifling in the summer and frigid in the winter so
try to visit for a few days in the spring or fall.
http://www.geotimes.org/mar08/article.html?id=Travels0308.html
http://www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id=1650&articleTypeId=0
http://www.nps.gov/joda/forteachers/upload/teacher%20packet.pdf