Scientists discovered fossils in numerous places across the United States.
Fossils enable researchers to reconstruct ancient animals and plants, which together with the surrounding rocks, reveal facts about ancient ecosystems. Fossils have been discovered in numerous locations across the United States. Not only the many National Parks, but several federal, state and county sites also provide opportunities for people to see fossils and learn about paleontology in North America.
Indiana
Indiana's bedrock geology is varied, spanning across the Precambrian era to the Pennsylvanian. The fossils of numerous prehistoric species have been discovered in Indiana's bedrock. These findings have received considerable attention in geologic literature, ranging from introductory texts on fossils to detailed reports on the location of select discoveries. A 7-foot-long trackway made over 300 million years ago by an amphibian was discovered at the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indiana. These tracks, which are preserved in tidally laminated siltstone, are the longest of their kind in Indiana and among the best preserved in the world.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Initially proclaimed a National Monument in 1929, Badlands in South Dakota was designated a National Park in 1978. Rock formations in the Badlands National Park can be dated back to the late Cretaceous, Eocene and Oligocene epochs. Numerous marine fossils and a rich diversity of extinct mammals are continually being discovered in the rapidly eroding layers of rock. Fossils belonging to the ancestors of modern horses, rhinoceros and pigs have been discovered throughout the park. Prehistoric bird, reptile and invertebrate fossils have also been found.
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
Plant and animal fossils going back more than 200 million years, have been discovered in the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. These fossils are from the Triassic Period, which was the time when dinosaurs were most plentiful. During the Triassic Period, what is today the Petrified Forest National Park was an enormous floodplain crossed by numerous streams. Small dinosaurs, prehistoric crocodiles and giant amphibians inhabited this area, and today the Petrified Forest National Park ranks among the world's great storehouses of knowledge about life on earth during the Triassic period.
Dinosaur Ridge, Colorado
Dinosaur Ridge in Colorado is one of the world's best known dinosaur fossil localities. The skeletons of three large dinosaurs from the Jurassic Period, together with tracks from dinosaurs and prehistoric crocodiles from the Cretaceous Period, have all been discovered at Dinosaur Ridge.
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