The Clarkia fossil beds (also known locally as the Fossil Bowl) is a

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

Latah Formation The Latah Formation is a series of late Miocene lacustrine sedimentary deposits which outcrop in eastern Washington and northwestern Idaho. The lake beds are interbedded with igneous rock of the Columbia River Basalt Group. The formation was ...

lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These for ...

near

Clarkia ''Clarkia'' is a genus within the flowering plant family Onagraceae. Over 40 species are currently classified in ''Clarkia''; almost all are native to western North America, though one species (''Clarkia tenella'') is native to South America. ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The fossil beds were laid down in a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

roughly 15-million-years ago, when a drainage basin was dammed by the

flood basalt A flood basalt (or plateau basalt) is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that covers large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Many flood basalts have been attributed to the onset of a hotspot reach ...

s of the

Columbia River Plateau The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbi ...

. Narrow and deep, the lake's cold, anoxic water and rapid sedimentation created perfect fossil conditions. The basin itself has remained tectonically stable, with little deformation since then. The fossils indicate that the region's climate was much warmer and wetter than today's, and similar to that of southern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

.Anonymous( 2006
''Digging Up Ancient Treasures in Clarkia.''
New West, August Publications.Rember WC (2007
''The Clarkia Flora of northern Idaho.''
University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. Though a number of animal species have been found, the Clarkia fossil beds site is best known for its fossil leaves. Their preservation is exquisite; fresh leaves are unfossilized, and sometimes retain their fall colors before rapidly

oxidizing Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

in air. It has been reported that scientists have managed to isolate small amounts of

ancient DNA Ancient DNA (aDNA) is DNA isolated from ancient specimens. Due to degradation processes (including cross-linking, deamination and fragmentation) ancient DNA is more degraded in comparison with contemporary genetic material. Even under the bes ...

from fossil leaves from this site.Kim, S, DE Soltis, PS Soltis, and Y Suh (2004
''DNA sequences from Miocene fossils: an ndhF sequence of Magnolia latahensis (Magnoliaceae) and an rbcL sequence of Persea pseudocarolinensis (Lauraceae).''
American Journal of Botany. 91(4):615-620. However, other scientists are skeptical of the validity of this reported occurrence of Miocene DNA. They have interpreted the DNA that has been recovered from these leaf fossils as contamination, probably from bacterial sources.Lindahl, T (1993) ''Instability and decay of the primary structure of DNA.'' Nature. 362:709–715.Sidow, A, AC Wilson, and S and Paabo (1991) ''Bacterial DNA in Clarkia fossils.'' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B. 333:429–433.Balmer AJ (2013
''Jurassic Park and the Race for Ancient DNA.''
Guest Blog, August 1, 2013, Scientific American.

References

Miocene paleontological sites of North America Lagerstätten Paleontology in Idaho {{ShoshoneCountyID-geo-stub