John Day Fossil Beds

This little spot in the center or Oregon has had an interesting geology and is known for it's fossils. Coming in from the east the first of three areas we came to was the Sheep Rock Unit.  It is named for this rock formation.

You enter the area through the canyon you can kind of see in this picture if you follow the roadway to sheep rock in the background.

I suppose if you know someone who has private land in the area, you could see fossils in situ,  At the National Monument, you see them in a museum and some fake ones along the trail. 

 
We didn't make it to Leaf Hill in the Painted Hills Unit of John Day, but we saw many fossils in the museum that represented plants that we are even familiar with like beeches, maples and oaks.

  It is tempting to bring home a rock from the Blue Basin where we walked in a short trail to see this interesting geology.  The pictures don't show quite how blue it is - it is a pale swimming pool aqua.

 The picture on the right shows one of those fake fossils, and possibly shows excavation sites in the Blue Basin.

Cathedral Rock (below)  is a formation that dropped from a higher elevation and is unique in the area.  I'm going to have to read more about this one.

 The surrounding hills show many layers of lava flows.  This view of Sheep Rock (on the right of the picture) shows those many lava flows and some of the same formation as the Blue Basin on the side of Sheep Rock.