Fossil Butte

Fossil Butte National Monument

Fossil Butte National Monument is a United States National Monument managed by the National Park Service, located 15 miles (24 km) west of Kemmerer, Wyoming, United States. It centers on an assemblage of Eocene Epoch animal and plant fossils associated with Fossil Lake—the smallest lake of the three great lakes which were then present in what are now Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The other two lakes were Lake Gosiute and Lake Uinta. Fossil Butte National Monument was established as a national monument on October 23, 1972.

Fossil

A fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record. Though the fossil record is incomplete, numerous studies have demonstrated that there is enough information available to give a good understanding of the pattern of diversification of life on Earth, and it can fill gaps in our understanding of the sequence of evolution on earth.

Butte

In geomorphology, a butte is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word butte comes from the French word butte, meaning 'knoll' ; its use is prevalent in the Western United States, including the Southwest, where mesa is used for the larger landform.

fossil

Noun

1. The mineralized remains of an animal or plant.
2. Any preserved evidence of ancient life, including shells, imprints, burrows, coprolites, and organically-produced chemicals.

butte

Noun

1. An isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top.