Oregon Paleo Lands Institute  

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    Welcome to the Oregon Paleo Lands Institute (OPLI) Center 

    OPLI's vistor's center located in Fossil, OR is ready to help you plan your visit to the John Day Basin Region. Explore Oregon’s Geologic and Natural Heritage With Us.

    There are many great things to see at the Oregon Paleo Lands Center & Gallery in Fossil, Oregon. Filled with interactive hands-on exhibits, the Oregon Paleo Lands Center & Gallery strives to broaden understanding of the region's history. In addition, visit our in-house retail store and gallery. Our volunteers are present to answer your questions. Free Wi Fi and charging station, with coffee and tea available.

    Exhibits

    Mitchell Plesiosaur

    The Oregon Paleo Lands Center & Gallery is now displaying the Mitchell Plesiosaur, the "Tiger of Cretaceous Seas" as its current exhibit. Call today to schedule a trip to the OPLI Field Center. (541) 763-4480

     

    Other Exhibits

    Interactive hands-on exhibits in the field center will include information with several different themes:

     

    How Oregon was Built

    The Ancient Contintent and Accreted Terrains

    The First Volcanoes: The Clarno Formation

    A History of Oregon's Cascade Volcanoes

    The Columbia River Basalts

    The Ice Age

    Adding the Coast Range: When the Willamette Valley Was a Bay

     

    Ancient Life and Ecosystems

    Oregon's Age of Dinosaurs - Ancient Reptiles of Sea and Air (Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs, Pterosaurs)

    Age of Mammals: A Brief Glimpse

    Ice Age Oregon: Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Giant Sloths

    Fossils of the Wheeler High School Fossil Beds

     

    Climate Change, Extinctions, & Climates Through Time

    Causes/Mechanisms of Climate Change, Extinctions

     

    Ancient Climates of Oregon and the Northwest

    Devonian (Chilly climates at the poles; tropical seas - a landscape of extremes)

    Pennsylvanian (Climate switches from cold to hot - giant insects rule!)

    Permian (Climate change - a torrid globe - wipes our 90 percent of life - the greatest extinction)

    Cretaceous (Warm age of the dinosaurs)

    Eocene and the Eocene-Paleocene Thermal Maximum (Bananas grow at Clarno)

    Oligocene (Climate chills as oceanic circulation changes - the record of the Painted Hills)

    Miocene (Cooling continues, grass takes over, a short warming here coincides with Columbia river Basalt eruptions) 

    Pliocene-Pleistocene (Cooling goes on a rampage)

     

    Climate Change Today, What We Can Do

    Evidence for Climate Change

    Consequences of Climate Change

    What We Can Do About Climate Change

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    Plan Trips

    School Trips

    Call us today to schedule a time for your school to visit the Oregon Paleo Lands Center & Gallery and Wheeler High Fossil Beds, where students can dig for fossils. (541) 763-4480

     

    Travel Information & Trip Planning

    Come and visit the Oregon Paleo Lands Center & Gallery for travel information. Whether you are looking for brochures or need help planning activities throughout the area, we stand ready to assist. Call us today at (541) 763-4480.

    Store & Gallery

    Coming Soon...online orders and purchases. 

    Oregon Paleo Lands  
    Institute Center

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    *Due to the current Coronavirus panemic, we are currently closed to visitors.

    We have a tentative open date of June 25, 2020.

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    Please stay safe and healthy.

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    Want to Volunteer?

    The Paleo Lands Center invites you, to meet the public and school groups at our educational hub of the John Day Basin. Volunteers can serve as Board Members, Advisors, Center helpers and docents and help share exciting natural history exhibits, brochures, and books with visitors and schools.
    Please Contact the Center at 541-763-4480 or paleolands@gmail.com for details

     

    Road and Weather Conditions

     

    *Please call or email if you would like to schedule your school group for a visit during the week. Thank you!

     

    Contact Information

    333 West Fourth Street

    Post Office Box 104

    Fossil, OR 97830
    Phone: (541) 763-4480

    Email: paleolands@gmail.com

     

     

    We are a 501c3 educational, non-profit, based in Fossil, Oregon.

     

     

    (C) 2013 Oregon Paleo Lands Center. All rights reserved.

    Created by Gregory Smith & Company, LLC.