| Mazon Creek fossil beds | |
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| Stratigraphic range: ~ |
Mazon Creek Fossil Beds | |
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| Nearest city | Benson Road, Morris, Illinois |
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| NRHP reference No. | 97001272 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | September 25, 1997[2] |
| Designated NHL | September 25, 1997[3] |
The Mazon Creek fossil beds are a conservation lagerstätte found near Morris, in Grundy County, Illinois. The fossils are preserved in ironstone concretions, formed approximately 309 million years ago in the mid-Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous period. These concretions frequently preserve both hard and soft tissues of animal and plant materials, as well as many soft-bodied organisms that do not normally fossilize. The quality, quantity and diversity of fossils in the area, known since the mid-nineteenth century, make the Mazon Creek lagerstätte important to paleontologists attempting to reconstruct the paleoecology of the sites.[4] The locality was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.[3][5]
- ^ McCoy VE, Asael D, Planavsky N. Benthic iron cycling in a high-oxygen environment: Implications for interpreting the Archean sedimentary iron isotope record. Geobiology. 2017;15:619–627. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12247
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Mazon Creek Fossil Beds". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2007.
- ^ Illinois State Museum-Mazon Creek Fossil Exhibit
- ^ Joanne Klussendorf (March 30, 1995), National Historic Landmark Nomination: Mazon Creek Fossil Beds (pdf), National Park Service. Accompanying photos, from 1912 and 1991. (497 KB)