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To become a Junior Park Ranger at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument you must successfully complete either PART ONE or PART TWO below. PART ONE is designed for those people who visit the fossil beds. PART TWO may be completed by those who do not visit the park, simply by using this website and library books to gather answers to questions. Park facilities that display answers to the questions below are accessible to people in wheelchairs. We have made your quest for answers somewhat challenging. Remember there is no deadline for completion, and the rewards are significant. As a Junior Park Ranger you will receive a Junior Park Ranger Badge, a certificate of achievement, and, with your permission, your photo will be displayed at the visitor center, along with the photos of other Junior Park Rangers. The address for submitting your answers is at the end. PART ONE: A Park-Wide Quest For Answers: The monument is divided into three widely separated units.You will need to find the answers at just one of the three units. It is your choice which one of units you will visit. The Sheep Rock Unit Quest: The Thomas Condon Paleontology center at the Sheep Rock Unit is located two miles north of the intersection of Routes 26 and 19, along Route 19. The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center provides wonderful displays about the fossils and geology found within the John Day Fossil Beds area.
1. Name three different animals found in the Turtle Cove section of the Paleontology Center's "walk through time" museum.
2. Which plant or animal that used to live in oregon long ago was the most surprising to you and why?
3. What is a nimravid?
4. Who was Thomas Condon and why did we name the paleontology center after him?
Located at the Foree Picnic Area of the Sheep Rock Unit (eight miles north of the visitor center along Route 19) is the Story In Stone Trail. Answers to the following questions are found along this trail. 1. On the first touch exhibit, what type of rock is located on the upper right of the exhibit face?
2. On the last touch exhibit, what animal skull is displayed on the lower right of the exhibit face? Write its common name and its Latin name here:
The Clarno Unit Quest: The Clarno Unit is located 18 miles west of the town of Fossil, Oregon, along State Route 218. There are a couple of short trails that begin near the picnic area. One trail will allow you to see thousands of plant fossils in the nearby boulders. You can find the answers to these multiple-choice questions at the picnic area exhibits. 1. In the picnic area are three exhibits placed side-by-side. On one of the wayside exhibits, a "creodont" is described as being like which of the following? (circle one of the choices below) a.
"horse-like" b. "predator" c. "browser"
d. "the size of elephants"
2. Looking at the text on the same three wayside exhibits, what is the four word definition given for the word Paleontologists? (circle one answer) a. Students of Prehistoric Animals b. A Scientists Who Study Bones c. Students of Ancient Life
3. What are the two-hundred-foot cliffs, known as the palisades, made of? (circle one) a. lava b. lake-bottom sediments c. lahars d. ocean-bottom sediments
4. The word "Eocene" means which of the following? (circle one) a. "Dawn Age" b. "First Act" c. "Horse Age" d. "Recent Age"
The Painted Hills Unit Quest:The Painted Hills Unit is located about ten miles west of the town of Mitchell, Oregon, off of State Route 26. There is a picnic area with information, overlooks, and several interesting trails with exhibits. Determine if the statements that follow are true or false. 1. From the picnic area exhibits, the date printed on the The Dalles - Canyon City Military Road map is 1897" (circle one) TRUE FALSE 2. From the picnic area exhibits, fossilized mammal bones are found in the Haystack Valley strata. (circle one) TRUE FALSE 3. At the Painted Hills overlook, the exhibit states that the world-famous Bridge Creek Flora fossils reveal many species of an ancient, hardwood forest. (circle one)TRUE FALSE 4. According to one of the Painted Hills overlook exhibits, ash and pumice from the ancestral Cascades and local volcanoes buried this area layer by layer. (circle one)TRUE FALSE 5. Along the Leaf Hill Trail are several exhibits. Ralph W. Chancy was a famous paleobotanist ( a paleontologist who studies plants) who studied the Leaf Hill site in the 1930's.One exhibit states he discovered 1,237 plant fossil specimens in a 98 cubic feet of rock? (circle one) TRUE FALSE 6. The fossil specimens from the Leaf Hill site were found in a rock called shale. (circle one)TRUE FALSE A question for you to answer Based on your observations and what you learned during your travels through the park, and what seems logical to you, please answer the following question. Your answer should be at least 50 words, and may be typed or written legibly. The law says that people may not collect fossils in the park without permission from the parks paleontologist ... WHY? (Give several reasons)
On your travels through John Day Fossil Beds you have probably seen, or read about, many examples of plant and animal fossils of ancient life. What is your favorite fossil? Write the scientific name, and then the common name, of your one favorite fossil found in the John Day Fossil Beds. Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Why is it your favorite?
END
OF PART ONE - Successful completion of PART ONE is enough to become
a Junior
******************************************************************************** PART TWO:
For those who cannot visit the park and complete part one above,
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