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Sheep Rock Unit
click on photos to enlarge
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| Towering Sheep Rock with its colorful layers. |
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| Original Fossil Laboratory housed in this
log cabin. Sign read: "Over 2,200 species of plants and animals have been identified in John Day fossil beds." |
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| Exhibits of ancient fossils in visitor's
center. Sign read: "The 'Toy' Sabertooth - Eusmilus No bigger than a bobcat. Despite its small size, this animal was the most developed of all John Day sabertooths. |
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| "Stabbing cats - Fossils of animals
which seem to be true ancestors of modern felines have been found here, but they are rare." |
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| "3-toed Horse. Missing link of horse
family was first discovered here. This sheep-sized animal had teeth adapted to eating leaves not grass. 3-toed feet with a small hoof on each toe, allowed quick turns and firm footing for this dweller of the forest edge." |
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| Current resident, Laurel Borer Beetle. Outside sitting on porch of visitor's center. |
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| Cathedral Rock, tall spires of eroded
claystone. Large block of rock was dislodged and slid toward the river rerouting its flow. |
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| Blue Basin, volcanic ash and soil layers
from ancient landscapes. Contains fossils over 28 million years old. |
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| Picture Gorge, hot floods of lava basalt formed vertical columns of six sided pillars. Named after Native American pictographs found on the dark walls. |
