The Eocene Upper Parachute Member of the Green River Formation at Douglas Pass, CO is a premier site for collecting fossil plants and insects.  The area is known for exquisite preservation as you will see in the image links below.  All rare specimens are being donated to the permanent repository at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS).  DMNS has on online identification database for fossil plants of the Green River Formation, Parachute Creek Member on their website at:  http://greenriver.dmns.org.   If you find any errors in identification, please contact Steve Wagner.  A very unusual find with attached seeds. Very large leaf, unidentified Steven Reinhold (left) & Tom Nelson (right) in quarry.     Exquisite insect specimens.  Note preserved eyes in top two specimens. SEE ALL IMAGES FROM TRIP! Note: Image captions refer to Morphotype Numbers in the online DMNS collection.

Notes:

(1) Anyone visiting Douglas Pass should be aware that the main Radar Dome excavation site is off limits due to an environmental impact study being conducted by BLM.  There are several issues contributing to the closure of this site: (1) damage/erosion; (2) emitted radiation from the dome; and (3) security of the dome.  For updates on the status of this site, contact the BLM, Grand Junction office.