Fossil Lake (designated by the Bureau of Land Management as Fossil Lake Area Critical Environmental Concern ) is a dry lake in a remote desert country in northern Lake County in the US. the state of Oregon. During the Pleistocene, the Fossil Lake and the surrounding basin were covered by ancient lakes. Many animals use lake resources. Over time, the remains of many of these animals become fossils in lake sediments. As a result, Fossil Lake has been an important site for collecting fossils and scientific studies for over a century. Over the years, paleontologists have discovered the remains of fossils from many mammals and bird and fish species there. Some of these fossils are 2 million years old.
Video Fossil Lake (Oregon)
Location Edit
Fossil Lake is located in a remote area in northern Lake County, Oregon. It is 19 miles (31 km) from the unrelated community of the Christmas Valley by road. The Fossil Lakes are about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Bend and 79 miles (127 km) north of Lakeview within a straight line.
From Christmas Valley, visitors travel east on County Road 5-14 ( Christmas Valley-Wagontire Road ) for 8 miles (13 km); then turn north on County Road 5-14D ( Fossil Lake Road ). Travel 8 miles (13 km) and then turn east to County Road 5-14E ( Lost Forest Road ), gravel road. After approximately 1.7 miles (2.7 km), turn south to an unfenced road. The interpretative sign of Fossil Lake is about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) from the turn. Vehicles are not allowed in the Fossil Lake Area from Critical Neighborhood Concern, so visitors must walk the last 150 meters (140 m) to the interpretative sign of the Fossil Lake. The Fossil Lake itself is 1.6 km southwest of the sign.
Maps Fossil Lake (Oregon)
Geology and natural history Edit
The bedrock beneath the Fossil Lakes area is made by basal streams defined during the Pliocene and Pleistocene periods. After an intense fault period during the middle Pleistocene, the large basin area created by Horst and graben faulting is modified by erosion and sedimentation. The basin is filled with water during the Pleistocene and Post-Pleistocene wet climate periods up to a depth of 200 feet (61 m). For more than 3,200 years, the water levels in the Valley Valley of Christmas including the Fossil Lake have been completely dry, leaving a high desert environment.
The lakebeds at Fossil Lake were formed during the post-Pleistocene period from lake sediments and alluvial materials. The floating sand of Mount Mazama and Newberry Crater also appears on the surface of the land throughout the Fossil Lake area. The ground surface is constituted by a hard caliche layer of hard calcium carbonate several inches thick. This subsurface caliche layer is resistant to water drainage and is rarely penetrated by roots. This unique and unique local water sub-surface structure has assisted ponderosa pines in adjacent areas of adjacent Forest Loss Forest to survive in high desert environments.
In 1877, there were still two small seasonal ponds on the Fossil Lake site surrounded by large dry lakes. The two pools are called Fossil Lakes . Since then, both pools are completely dry. In addition, the site name is now single and only applies to the western dry-swimming area.
Today, the Fossil Lake site is a dry lake above the fossil-containing sediments in the valley of the Christmas Valley. This area is generally flat with a soft swales. The base height of the lake is 4,295 feet (1,309 m) above sea level. There is a huge sand dune to the east of the lake. These dunes are made up of lacustrine sediments, aeolian sediments, and alluvial materials with a large number of volcanic and ash pumaces mixed into fine sand that has been exfoliated from the surface of Fossil Lake.
History Edit
The first settlers arrived in the Lake Christmas Valley around 1865. In June 1877, John Whiteaker (former governor of Oregon) visited the valley of the Christmas Valley. During the trip, Whiteaker explored the Fossil Lake area, where he found a large dry lake with two small alkaline pools in low places. Whiteaker named the Fossil Lakes pond . In addition, he found many fossils exposed throughout the region, including elephant fossils, camels, horses, and deer, as well as fossils from animals that Whiteaker could not identify. He notes that fossils of horses and birds are numerous. He also discovered ancient human artifacts. Whiteaker reports that the fossils are scattered in a large desert plot that flows from southwest to northeast. He estimates that the fossil layer is 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and over 4 miles (6.4 km) long. After his journey, Whiteaker sent his fossils to Thomas Condon, a famous paleontologist and professor at the University of Oregon.
Later that year, Whiteaker's son, J.C. Whiteaker, back to Lake Fossil with professor Condon. The purpose of this second expedition is to more carefully examine and record the many fossils that are scattered around the Fossil Lake site. The discovery of Condon in Lake Fossil attracted the attention of other well-known paleontologists.
After the first site survey in 1877, many paleontologists had visited Fossil Lake to collect fossils and conduct research. In 1879, Professor Edward D. Approval of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences visited Condon at the University of Oregon and then went to Fossil Lake to collect fossils. Other paleontologists collected in Fossil Lake during the later part of the 19th century included O. C. Marsh of Yale University; Charles H. Sternberg, an amateur paleontologist and writer; Cope's Disciple Jacob L. Wortman of the American Museum of Natural History; and Robert W. Shufeldt, curator of the Army Medical Museum. Both Sternberg and Wortman led the expeditions collected for Professor Cope. The Smithsonian Institution also began research at Fossil Lake in the late 1800s. In 1901, Annie M. Alexander visited Fossil Lake to collect fossils. He sent the specimen to the University of California. During this period, local settlers reported that fossils were often discarded by cartloads.
After 1906, the number of homesteads in the valley of the Christmas Valley began to increase. That year, a post office opened in Cliff, just north of Lake Fossil. Settlers use the Fossil Lake area to graze sheep, cattle, and horses. Due to the harsh desert conditions, most of the settlers left their fields in 1920. It was the year when Cliff's post office was closed. The prolonged drought of the 1920s and 1930s ended dry farming in the region.
Additional fossil collection and research was conducted in the early 20th century. In 1907, David S. Jordan identified several fish fossils from the site. In 1911, Loye Holmes Miller identified and described a number of new bird fossils. Stufeldt identified more bird fossils in 1913. He also corrected some of the misidentified fossil mammals found during previous expeditions. Miller, Oliver P. Hay, and John C. Merriam also studied the age of Fossil Lake specimens, concluded that a large number of extinct species alleged that the fossil period was older than previously thought. In addition, Chester Stock and E. L. Furlong performed summer excavations at locations 1923 and 1924. Stock and Furlong sent their discoveries to the University of California.
In 1977, the Bureau of Land Management placed a temporary ban on vehicles in the Fossil Lake area. Restrictions apply to 6,560 hectares (2,650 ha) around dry lakes. In 1979, the Bureau of Land Management made a permanent vehicle ban. In 1983, the Land Management Bureau merged with Fossil Lake, the Forest Reserve Forest Loss Forest area, and Sand Dunes Christmas Hill became a Critical Area of ​​Environmental Concern. Collecting fossils in the Fossil Lake Area from Critical Environmental Concerns without permission from the Bureau of Land Management is prohibited.
In the early 1990s, the Land Management Bureau began working with South Dakota Mining School to rescue fossils and conduct paleontological research at Fossil Lake. This collaboration lasted more than a decade. The fossils collected during the project are kept on the campus of South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, South Dakota.
In 2017, a team from the University of Oregon with help from the Bureau of Land Management found traces of the Columbus mamut trail. This track includes 117 individual mammoth prints in an area of ​​66 feet (20 m) as far as 25 feet (7.6 m) from the seafloor. Scientists believe the trail was made approximately 43,000 years ago.
Fossils Edit
Fossil-containing deposits in Fossil Lake cover at least 10,000 hectares (4,000 hectares). Over the years, there have been many expeditions to collect fossils on the Fossil Lake site. This site has produced more Holocene fossils than any other location in the world except La Brea Tar Pits in California. The discovery of fossils has included at least 23 species of mammals, 74 species of birds, 7 species of fish, and 11 species of molluscs. Some of the great mammal fossils found on the site include the Columbus mammoth, the slow loris, the terrible wolf, the giant beavers, the prehistoric bison, the three camel species, some species of horses, peccary, and an extinct bear. Bird fossils include flamingos, pelicans, and swans, and large eagle species. Fish fossils include tui chub and several species of salmon. Two-thirds of the fossil species collected in the Fossil Lake are extinct.
The extent of the fossil layers at the Fossil Lake site remains unknown; Specific stratigraphic rock layers defined at different periods each contain fossils of different animal characteristics. The fossil deposits from the Holocene period are between 8,000 and 50,000 years old. There are also Fossil Lake artifacts that show that humans may have been hunting in this area near the end of this period. Some prey may be a large mammal that is now extinct. The oldest fossils from the site date from the Pleistocene. These fossils are 2 million years old.
The Bureau of Land Management has identified several environmental issues related to the Fossil Lake site. First, the fossil deposits extend beyond the limits of the forbidden area. As a result, there is a risk that vehicles or cattle grazing can damage unprotected fossils. Second, the collection of illegal fossils is a potential problem. Finally, the loose surface deposits at Fossil Lake continue to erode, exposing new fossils each year. When fossils were first exposed, they were often found as articulated skeletons. However, the remnants were quickly dispersed by the action of the wind. The sand sediments carried by the wind also cause rapid weathering once the fossils are exposed. As a result, scientists are trying to collect newly opened fossils as soon as possible.
Currently, large fossil collections from the Fossil Lake site are maintained by the University of Oregon, the Smithsonian Institution, the South Dakota Mining School, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of California at Berkeley.
Environment Edit
Based on data of the National Weather Service recorded at Cliff between 1908 and 1916 and other nearby weather reporting stations, the average annual temperature in the Fossil Lake area is 43 Â ° F (6 Â ° C). The hottest and driest moons are July and August, with an average peak temperature of 63 ° F, 17 ° C (17 ° C). The coldest months are December and January. Average daily temperatures in December were 30Ã, Â ° F (-1Ã, Â ° C) and 28Ã, Â ° F (-2Ã, Â ° C) in January. The average annual rainfall in Fossil Lake is 8.7 inches (22 cm) per year. The wettest months are December and January, with smaller peak periods in May and June. However, weather patterns in this area are very uncertain. For example, there was a very severe drought during the 1920s and early 1930s.
The Fossil Lake area supports a plant community dominated by large bushes, low sagebrush, silver bushes, green bunny brushes (also called yellow rabbit brushes), rubber bunny brushes, and wooden oils. There are a number of perennial grasses common in the area of ​​Fossil Lake, including Sandberg bluegrass, needle and thread grass, Indian ricegrass, creeping wildrye, and invasive cheatgrass. The perennial flowering plants found in the Fossil Lake area include the culprit, the usual yellow-fringed lemon sunflower lemon, and the Townsend daisy, and the thorny spikes.
Wildlife Edit
The animal population around Fossil Lake is typical of the high desert state in south-central Oregon. Larger mammals include pronghorn, American civet, and coyote. Black-tailed jackrabbits, Ord mouse kangaroos, deer mice, Great Basin pocket rats, and mice of the northern grasshopper are small animals found in the Fossil Lake area. There are also 13 species of bats that live in the desert around Fossil Lake. In 1917, a small bear was killed near Lake Fossil. Initially, it was suspected that the bear was probably a unique species, a lava bear. A photograph of the bear was published in Oregon Sportsman magazine in October 1917. Finally, it was determined that the specimen was an unusually small black American bear that was stunted from malnutrition.
Fossil Lake is home to a number of bird species as well. They include bigger wise-grouse, black-collared whisper, pinyon jay, blackbird Brewer, American robin, mountain bluebird, sage thrasher, Sagebrush sparrow, and timid bushes. There are also birds of prey such as prairie falcon, red tailed hawks, and golden eagles.
There are a number of reptiles found in the area of ​​Fossil Lake, both snakes and lizards. Snakes found in the area around Fossil Lake include west rattlesnakes, gopher serpents, streaked maggots, and night snakes. Common lizards include sagebrush lizards, short-horned lizards, distended lizards, western fence lizards, and western lizards.
References Edit
External links Edit
- Bureau of Land Management, Lakeview District
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments