fossil beds
Preserved remains layers
Fossil beds are geological formations containing concentrated deposits of fossilized remains—bones, shells, plants, or traces of ancient organisms.
They form where conditions favored preservation over long periods: The Burgess Shale fossil beds contain remarkably preserved soft-bodied creatures from 500 million years ago.
Scientists excavate fossil beds to study prehistoric life, and significant sites often become protected areas.
- Burgess ShaleCambrian lagerstätte in Canada
- La Brea Tar PitsNatural asphalt fossil site
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- paleontologyStudy of ancient organisms
- dig siteArchaeological excavation location
sedimentary rock · rock formations · excavation · petrified wood · transitional fossils · trace fossils · deep time · geologic time scale · extinct species · evolutionary history · prehistoric life · dig · erosion · tectonic activity · quarry · bone · dinosaur · specimen
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- fossilsdinosaur bones, ammonite, amber, ammonites, fossils
- paleontologydinosaurs, paleontology, dinosaur bones, dinosaur fossils, fossils
- British geologychalk, flint, limestone, shale, sandstone
- Gobicold desert, dinosaur fossils, sandstorm, dust storm
- Paleoanthropologyearly humans, Homo erectus, Australopithecus, skull fragments, bone fragments
fossil bedsrainforests
Wet, dense tropical woodlands
wetlands · breeding grounds · wildlife sanctuaries · tide pools · coral reefs