Journey
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Blue Basin hike holds
hidden treasure
B B
A
F OSSILS ARE STILL FOUND
IN
LUE
ASIN
REA
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
After traveling little over a half-mile, two hikers enjoy the scenic blue-green claystones of the
Island in Time Blue Basin hike. BELOW: The end of the trail at the Blue Basin Island in Time hike.
While visiting the state-of-the-art Thomas Condon Paleontolo-
gy Center in the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds, be
sure to take in one of the surrounding hikes.
The Blue Basin’s Island in Time Trail, approximately 3 miles
north of the Paleontology Center, is more than just spectacular
scenery for the eyes.
The tan and blue-
green layers of claystones
and siltstones, volcanic
ash turned to stone, have
peeled back a treasure
trove of fossils over the
years.
At 1.3 miles, round-
trip, the hike has a gravel
trail with metal bridges
and benches to rest on An oreodont fossil replica is on
along the way.
display along the Island in Time
The hike is easy Blue Basin Trail.
enough for children, too.
Interpretive signs and fossil replicas located along the trail
show the variety of vertebrate fossils that have been found, in-
cluding oreodonts, similar to fi eld hogs, and tortoises.
Even after 150 years of study, new fossils continue to be dis-
covered in the basin.
See HIKE, Page 7
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