The Geologic History of Fossil Butte National Monument and Fossil Basin
Mcgrew PO and Casilliano M. 1975. The Geologic History of Fossil Butte National Monument and Fossil Basin. National Park Service Occasional Paper Number Three. United States Government Printing Office. Washington, DC
This report relates the geologic history (stratigraphy, geomorphology) of Eocene Fossil Lake. Fossil Lake, part of which is included in Fossil Butte National Monument, is recognized for its fossil fish beds. Other topics include: paleoenvironments, taphonomy, and other fossils (plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals).Fifty million years ago the southwestern corner of what is now Wyoming was part of a system of three freshwater lakes that covered that area plus adjacent parts of Colorado and Utah. These lakes began with Lake Flagstaff and later became Lake Gosiute, Lake Uinta, and Fossil Lake. Today, the lakes are gone and where once there were lush tropical forests there is now a semi-desert covered with sagebrush and greasewood. The history of these lakes, forests, and animal life can be read in the thick sediments deposited so long ago. This report concerns itself with one of these lakes, the smallest of the three, Fossil Lake. Famous for its fossil fish beds, part of this ancient lake is now Fossil Butte National Monument. It is the purpose of this report to relate the history of Fossil Lake and its now fossilized inhabitants, thereby, hopefully presenting the order of events in a landscape obscured by 50 million years of time.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Mcgrew, Paul; Casilliano, Michael
- Date of Issue
- 1975
- Publisher
- United States Government Printing Office
- Units
- FOBU , HIST
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Cultural Resources, ehistory, Environment, Formation, Formation, Fossil Butte, Fossil Lake (WY), Geology, Geomorphology, Green River, History, Limestone, Paleontology, Physical Sciences, Sedimentology/Stratigraphy, Stratigraphy