Oregon Paleo Lands Center
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
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
Currently open:
Thursday - Sunday
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
*The center does not have A/C and will be closed on days with temperatures above 95 degrees for the safety of our volunteers, staff, and visitors. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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
*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