Explore / North America / US West
US West, Idaho
Clarkia ID
Fossil Bowl Miocene leaf beds
Fossil site Source-confirmed findsLicence or permit
What you could find
Reported finds from this ground.
Crystals and mineralsAlso reported: Miocene leaves (metasequoia, oak, magnolia), rare fish and insects, colors fade fast: wrap finds.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Stephanie Clifford from Arlington, VA, USA (CC BY 2.0).
.jpg){kind=link}
Why this spot
Rockhounding locality: the Clarkia lagerstatte, 16-million-year-old lake shales with leaves so fresh they oxidize before your eyes, exposed when a motocross track was cut in 1972
World-famous Miocene flora in the scientific literature; the Kienbaum family's Fossil Bowl has hosted public digging for decades
Before you go
Hazards noted for this site.
Wet slick shaleRace traffic on event days, remote with no services
Keep exploring nearby
More spots in this area.