Paleontology in Vermont facts for kids
Paleontology in Vermont is all about finding and studying ancient fossils in the U.S. state of Vermont. Even though fossils are generally uncommon here, some really important discoveries have been made! Not many fossils are found east of the Green Mountains because of the types of rocks in that area.
Long, long ago, during the early part of the Paleozoic Era, Vermont was covered by a warm, shallow sea. This sea was home to amazing creatures like brachiopods (shellfish), corals, crinoids (sea lilies), ostracoderms (ancient armored fish), and trilobites (ancient sea bugs). Vermont doesn't have rocks from some big time periods like the Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, or Jurassic periods, so we don't find fossils from those times here. Also, rocks from the Paleogene and Neogene periods are missing.
Later, during the Ice Age, giant glaciers moved across the state. At times, parts of Vermont were covered by salty seawater, allowing marine mammals like whales to swim in. After the seawater drained away, large animals like mastodons lived here. Scientists started paying attention to Vermont's fossils in the mid-1800s when mastodon bones were found. In 1950, many Paleozoic sea creature fossils were discovered. The Beluga whale is Vermont's official state fossil.
Contents
Vermont's Ancient Past
Vermont's fossil story starts in the Paleozoic Era, as no fossils from the even older Precambrian time have been found.
Life in the Cambrian Sea
During the Cambrian period, Vermont was covered by a warm, shallow sea. This sea was home to early fish called ostracoderms and many trilobites. One ostracoderm fossil was found in Franklin County and is now kept at Princeton University. A famous Vermont trilobite, Olenellus vermontanus, was discovered near Georgia Center. When it was found, it was considered the most basic trilobite known in the world! Other sea animals from this time also left behind fossil tracks and trails on the seafloor.
Ordovician and Silurian Sea Life
The warm, shallow sea from the Cambrian period stayed over Vermont into the Ordovician period. During this time, crinoids and cup corals lived here, leaving their fossils near Northfield and north of Montpelier. More fossil tracks and trails from sea animals were also found. As the Ordovician period went on, the sea covering Vermont got deeper. Sea levels rose even more during the next period, the Silurian.
Possible fossils from the Silurian or Devonian periods include brachiopods, cephalopods (like ancient squid), crinoids, cystoids (another type of sea lily), corals, and possibly a trilobite. These fossils were found near the Connecticut River and in the Westmore area.
Missing Time Periods
During the Devonian period, a big mountain-building event called the Acadian Oreogeny happened. This event changed or destroyed many of the rocks from that time. Because of this, and later erosion, Vermont doesn't have rocks from the Carboniferous and Permian periods. This means we don't find fossils from those times in Vermont.
The Mesozoic Era, which includes the time of the dinosaurs, is also mostly missing from Vermont's rock record. Some igneous rocks (formed from cooled lava) from the Cretaceous period exist, but they don't contain any fossils. So, no dinosaur fossils have ever been found in Vermont!
The Ice Age and Beyond
The gap in Vermont's rock record continues through the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic Era. However, during the Quaternary period, which includes the recent Ice Age, Vermont was covered by massive glaciers.
At the western edge of the state, ancient lakes formed. Sometimes, salty seawater flowed into these lakes. This allowed whales to swim into what is now Vermont! After the glaciers melted and the land rose up (because the heavy ice was gone), the area was cut off from the ocean. After the ice melted, large animals like mastodons also made Vermont their home.
Fossil Discoveries in Vermont's History
Some of the first scientific fossil finds in Vermont happened in the mid-1800s.
In 1848, workers building a railroad in Rutland County found the tusk, teeth, and bones of a mammoth. The very next year, in 1849, a complete skeleton of an ancient whale was discovered. This whale became known locally as the 'Charlotte whale'. This amazing find also happened during railroad construction, specifically in a Chittenden County railroad cut near the town of Charlotte.
In 1950, many fossils were found on the Connecticut River. These included corals, brachiopods, crinoids, cephalopods, and possibly a trilobite. These fossils were from the Silurian or Devonian periods.
More recently, in 1993, the Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) from the Ice Age was named Vermont's official state fossil. In 1859, a single tusk was found in Richmond. A year later, another tusk was discovered in Brattleboro. In 1866, more mammoth remains were found in Richmond.
In 2014, the 1848 mammoth tooth and tusk were named Vermont's state terrestrial (land) fossils. The beluga whale skeleton was then officially named the state marine (sea) fossil. The beluga whale skeleton is kept at the Perkins Geology Museum in Burlington. The mammoth remains are at the Mount Holly Community Historical Museum in Belmont.
Museums & Places with Fossils
You can see fossils and learn more about Vermont's ancient past at these places:
- Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, St. Johnsbury
- Fleming Museum of Art, Burlington
- Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich
- Mount Holly Community Historical Museum, Belmont
- Perkins Geology Museum at the University of Vermont, Burlington
- Southern Vermont Natural History Museum, Marlboro
- ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington
- The Nature Museum, Grafton
- Vermont Museum of Mining & Minerals, Grafton
Images for kids
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The location of the state of Vermont.
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Olenellus was an early trilobite.
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A living beluga whale.
