John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, series of rock formations in north-central Oregon, U.S., consisting of three widely separated units in the badlands of the John Day River valley. It is noted for the record of life extending over some 40 million years of the Cenozoic Era (the past 65.5 million years) preserved in its fossil beds. Authorized in 1974 and established in 1975, the monument covers a total area of 22 square miles (57 square km). It was first recognized as an important fossil site in the 1860s. The monument was named for the river, and the river was named for a member of an expedition in 1811–12 to the Pacific Northwest sponsored by John Jacob Astor.

The monument includes the eroded hills of Painted Hills Unit near Mitchell, the high palisades of Clarno Unit near Fossil, and the weathered bluffs of Sheep Rock Unit near Dayville; the latter unit consists of four areas along the John Day River, the largest of which contains Sheep Rock, which rises to 3,360 feet (1,024 metres). The fossils themselves are found in a succession of four broad strata of sedimentary rocks. The oldest of these, the Clarno Formation (37 to 54 million years old), contains the remains of numerous plants and animals that lived in the tropical and subtropical forests of the time. The John Day Formation (20 to 39 million years old) has a record of deciduous forests inhabited by swine, horses, dogs, camels, and rhinoceroses. The savanna and mixed hardwood forests of the Mascall Formation (12 to 15 million years old) were home to deer, camels, horses, dogs, and bears, according to the fossil record. Finally, the Rattlesnake Formation (6 to 8 million years old) has the remains of horses, camels, pronghorn, bears, and rhinoceroses in what is thought to have been a grassland setting.

Present-day vegetation includes wildflowers, various grasses, sagebrush, cottonwoods, juniper, and ponderosa pine. Among the varied wildlife are pronghorn, elk, and numerous species of birds (notably herons, hawks, and bluebirds). The visitors’ centre, located in Sheep Rock Unit, has an extensive exhibit of mammal and leaf fossils. All the units are accessible by road, and short trails lead to individual fossil beds.