Colorado Basin Eocene Fossils and Petrified Wood
55 billion years ago
Sandstone fossil and metasequoia wood


Dawn Redwood Fossil Wood (Metasequoia)
Eocene (56 million to 33.9 million years ago)
Wood fossil

Metasequoia is a fast-growing redwood native to China. Because of the heartiness of the redwood, as evidenced by its endurance in the Eocene, a period of extreme climate change 50 million years ago, the U.S. Forest Service is considering the trees in assisted plant migration projects to help forest regeneration with climate change.

Ginkgo Fossil Plant Leaf
50 to 60 million years ago
Fossilized sandstone

This fossil is from 50 to 60 million years ago, when the climate was largely subtropical, ocean temperatures were high and polar ice caps were absent. This was a time marked by the demise of non-avian dinosaurs, giant marine reptiles and much other fauna and flora. In light of its resiliency, gingko trees are being considered in assisted plant migration projects to help forest regeneration with climate change.