John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Oregon

Colorful rock formations at John Day Fossil Beds preserve a world class record of plant and animal evolution, changing climate, and past ecosystems that span over 40 million years. Exhibits and a working lab at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center as well as scenic drives and hikes at all three units allow visitors to explore the prehistoric past of Oregon and see science in action.

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument consists of three units: the Clarno Unit, the Painted Hills Unit, and the Sheep Rock Unit. These three locations are dispersed through east-central Oregon, and visiting all three units is difficult to do in a single day, but is possible with an early start.

The Clarno Unit is located 18 miles west of the town of Fossil. The Palisades are the most prominent landform. 44 million years ago a series of volcanic mudflows, swept up and perserved a diverse assortment of plants and animals that inhabited a near-tropical forest. Tiny four-toed horses, huge rhino-like brontotheres, crocodilians, and meat-eating creodonts that once roamed ancient jungles are now found in the rocks of the Clarno Unit, as well as an incredibly diverse range of plant life. Leaves, fruits, nuts, seeds, and petrified wood from 173 species of trees, vines, shrubs, and other plants have been found here thus far.

The yellows, golds, blacks, and reds of the Painted Hills are beautiful at all times of the day, but are best lit for photography in the late afternoon. Changing light and moisture levels can drastically affect the tones and hues visible in the hills. The Painted Hills at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument are made of heavily eroded volcanic ash layers.

Multiple exposures of the Turtle Cove strata can be seen at the Sheep Rock Unit. This blue-green rock layer represents millions of years of volcanic ash accumulation. Surprisingly enough, the green tint is not due to copper, but rather a complex blending of the elements hydrogen, oxygen, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, calcium, iron, strontium, and barium.

Contructed in 2003, the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center is the best place to see fossils at the monument. Here, fossils from all three units of the park, as well as those from other federal lands in the area, are on display for visitors to see up close.

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