HOW WERE THE FOSSILS AT THE PENN DIXIE SITE FORMED?
The fossils found at the site were marine creatures (trilobites, brachiopods, corals etc.) that thrived at the bottom of a shallow tropical sea (the area was at that time 20 to 30 degrees south of the equator). The creatures died and were buried by mud, which eventually transformed to shale. Fossils were formed in four steps: 1) After the creature died, the normal decay process removed the soft tissues, leaving behind the hard parts such as shell or skeleton. These hard parts are buried in sediments of limestone, clay, sand or gravel. 2) As time passed, other sediments built up over the buried remains. Eventually the pressure of the overlying sediments, heat or chemical action changed the sediment to rock. 3) Over 380 million years, the surface of the earth was uplifted and the waters retreated leaving the rocks high and dry. 4) As the uplift or exposure continued, rain, wind and ice began to erode the rock, exposing the once buried fossils at the surface. WHAT WILL I DO WHEN I VISIT?
