Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is a unique place where visitors can explore one of the richest fossil deposits in the world. The monument features petrified Sequoia trees, as well as fossils of over 1,700 species, including insects, plants, and even a fossil record of the tsetse fly. The fossils are preserved in paper-thin shale, which formed on the bottom of an ancient lake. The area was once home to a warm-temperate ecosystem, which is now cool-temperate. Visitors can see the contrast between the modern landscape and the ancient ecosystem, with petrified tree stumps standing alongside modern trees like ponderosa pine, spruce, fir, and aspen. The monument also holds secrets of deep time, with fossils that tell the story of life on Earth 34 million years ago