September 2015

Michael and I just returned from a fossil dig at the Stonerose Eocene fossil site in Republic, Washington. I am writing an article on the site for the Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin and went there to take pictures and interview the Stonerose operations manager, Travis Wellman.  Wellman took us into the basement of the center to get a look at the impressive collections. This is Macginitiea gracilis,  an extinct forbearer of our modern sycamores. It is hard to imagine that something a perishable as a leaf can survive for over 48 million years. But the muddy soils of the lake bed this leave was trapped in excluded the oxygen necessary decomposition, a process called carbonization.  The mud stone is very soft and breaks readily revealing a wide variety of fossils. In addition to finding a Macginitiea  leaf myself, I also found a fish spine. Michael found a fish jaw, which the center  kept for research. You can see a picture of it on their website: Stonerose Interpretive Center.