John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
These fossil beds are world famous for 8 fossil assemblages from 7 to 55 million years old. Most were preserved by volcanic activity such as lahars (mud flows), ash fall, or pyroclastic events. One pyroclastic event was 56 times as large as that associated with the explosion of Mount St. Helens and covered 13,000 square miles!
Numerous fossils from both plants and animals left enough detail that scientists can tell the environment they lived in, whether tropical rain forest, temperate forest, or Savannah. The large skull is from an entelodont – a carnivorous pig about the size of a large grizzly. Maybe it’s a good thing they went extinct. More about the John Day Fossil Beds
