A MESSAGE TO OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY... San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation Seeking Sponsorships

The Fossil Discover Center is now open to the public; it is located at 19450 Road 21 1/2, Chowchilla CA.  For more information, visit www.maderamammoths.org or call (559) 665-7107

HOURS

• Tuesday – Sundays; 9:00 – 4:00 pm;
  (Closed on Mondays & Holidays)

EVENTS

ADMISSION PRICES

THE MADERA COUNTY FOSSIL DISCOVERY CENTER

Madera County, in partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation, opened a unique and exciting Fossil Discovery Center on October 13, 2010. The project is located at the Fairmead landfill in Madera County, the site of one of the largest middle-Pleistocene fossil excavations in North America. These fossils are of particular significance for California and the western United States because there are few sites known from this time period, especially with so many species present. 

The discovery center is at the Southeast corner of the landfill area. The site overlooks the current landfill operations and the paleontology dig. It also has a good view of the valley floor and the rising foothills to the east, the area where the prehistoric rivers washed down the bones that have become the Fairmead fossils.

The Fossil Discovery Center features exhibit areas, audio/visual educational displays, and fossil preparation stations where volunteers clean and identify specimens in the presence of the visitors, answering questions and helping to share the excitement of pre-historical discovery. The center consists of 6,000 square feet on 5 acres with plans for expansion to 10,000 square feet on 10 acres in the near future.

This facility attracts visitors from throughout the State, as well as national/international travelers to nearby Yosemite National Park. However the target audience is children and families in the Central   San Joaquin Valley. School field trips, curriculum programs for teachers and other educational opportunities will be developed to serve the target populations. The Fossil Discovery Center represents an opportunity for Valley residents to share an internationally important historical resource that will help them understand their world and will inspire many of them to continue exploring and learning. For more information about the Fossil Discovery Center, visit www.MaderaMammoths.org

This information provided courtesy of Terry Dolph, San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation. 
The Fairmead Landfill is located at 21739 Road 19 (Avenue 20 West off of State Highway 99), Chowchilla CA

HIDDEN TREASURES

The San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation (SJVPF) was formed in 1994 when a million-year old Columbian Mammoth tusk was found as workers were scraping dirt at the Madera County landfill in Fairmead. In a short time, scientists realized that this County dump was located on one of the most significant fossil beds discovered from the Pleistocene period. In addition to mammoths, fossils have been found from saber tooth cats, giant ground sloths, camels, horses and rare prong-horned antelopes, as well as smaller animals. Through analysis of the fossil materials the site presents a unique picture of the entire Central Valley ecosystem a million years ago. For the last 17 years, the fossil salvage operation has taken place concurrently with the landfill operations. Thousands of fossils have been recovered from the site. The dig is expected to be active for another 20 years.

The SJVPF, in partnership with Madera County, recently developed a unique and exciting Fossil Discovery Center. The project is located at the Fairmead landfill in Madera County, the site of one of the largest middle-Pleistocene fossil excavations in North America. These fossils are of particular significance for California and the western United States because there are few sites known from this time period, especially with so many species present. The facility interprets both the paleontology activity and the landfill activity. These diverse themes are united by showing how the world of the past became the world of the present, and how our current activities, including waste disposal, will create the world of the future. The Discovery Center of Madera County celebrated its Grand Opening on October 13, 2010.

The Discovery Center of Madera County features many exhibits, touchable fossils, a mock dig, a movie, audio-visual illustrations, dig site tours, and a Paleontologist on duty 6 days a week to answer visitor’s questions.

Few motorists heading north to Merced or south to Fresno realize that around the 160-foot-high hill where thousands of tons of trash are buried lies one of the largest known concentrations of fossils from long-extinct mammals that roamed the valley between 750,000 years ago. Since the first great, curved mammoth tusk was discovered in 1993, when a new section of the Madera County landfill was opened, the Fairmead site has yielded more than 15,000 large fossils and 5,000 microfossils from about 38 species. 

Fossils so far have been found over more than 14 acres at depths of 10 to 60 feet, making Fairmead one of the largest middle-Pleistocene fossil beds in North America.

 "There's no indication of fossils running out any time soon," said Robert Dundas, a vertebrate paleontologist at Cal State Fresno who was among the researchers to identify the first mammoth tusk excavated in 1993. "I don't think anyone knows how big the site really is."

The Fairmead fossils reveal an ancient world inhabited by a variety of prey and predators - some familiar and some long extinct. No human remains have been found. Among the prey species are mammoths, two types of camels (one of which looked like a modern-day llama) and three species of ground sloth. The predators were large and fearsome. In addition to saber-toothed cats, including the Smilodon Californicus (the California state fossil), there was the fearsome giant short-faced bear, which was much larger than today's grizzly bear.

When these creatures roamed the Central Valley, it was a vast, marshy area because drainage through San Francisco Bay was blocked. "It was probably something akin to an African waterhole today", said Dundas.

 A great place for families to take the kids - contact the foundation in advance for scheduled tours.

San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation
www.maderamammoths.org

The Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County
19450 Avenue 21 ½, Chowchilla, CA 93610
(Soon to be Mammoth Pkwy)
Phone: (559) 665-7107
Fax: (559) 674-1157
Email SJVPaleo@gmail.com

Permission to reprint courtesy of Terry Dolph
San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation