Hidden in Stone

A look at Prehistoric San Bernardino County

Crystal Cortez MSc SBCM Paleontologist

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San Bernardino County Museum

Home to regional paleontological specimens

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Quaternary alluvium

Can range from 2.5 million years ago - Recent

Quaternary alluvium is the thin layer of recent deposits. These deposits usually do not have fossil material but every now and then they overlay older deposits. In Twentynine Palms, fossil remains of horse teeth and rodents have been discovered from these younger deposits.

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San Timoteo Formation

1.4 million year ago

Just minutes from the main museum are outcrops of the San Timoteo Formation where remains of Ice Age mammals including ground sloths, mammoths, rodents, horse, mollusks, and leaf impressions have been discovered.

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Barstow Formation

19.3-13.4 Million years ago

This Miocene lake deposit is rich in fossil remains of peccary, horse, camel, tapirs, and rhinos just to name a few.

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Puente Formation

11.6 million to 5.3 million years ago

The Yorba member of the Puente Formation is a fossil rich deposit full of Miocene aged marine fauna. Sharks, pipefish, whales, dolphins, and many invertebrates are some of the animals that have been preserved in this Formation.

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Cajon Valley Formation

18-12.7 Million years ago

Many species of horse, and early carnivores have been discovered in this Miocene deposit. Among the remains found in the Cajon Valley Formation are fragments from a creature called a Chalicothere, an animal that walked like a gorilla, had the head of a horse, and over 8 feet tall.

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Aztec Sandstone

155 Million years ago

Aztec sandstone is the only place in California where Jurassic aged dinosaur material have been discovered. Fossil footprints of theropod dinosaurs, and pterosaurs have been found in this Formation. See these on display at SBCM.

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Latham Shale

541 Million years ago

Latham shale is a famous deposit from the Cambrian time period that was deposited over 541 million years ago. Many Trilobite fossils have been discovered in this Formation. See these on display at SBCM.

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Wood Canyon Formation

500 Million years ago

The Wood Canyon Formation is an early Cambrian deposit where fossil remains of Ediacaran-like fauna have been discovered. Ediacaran fauna were soft-bodied organisms that represent the oldest true animal fossils on Earth.

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Victor Valley Museum

The Victor Valley branch of the San Bernardino County Museum has many local fossils on display for the public to enjoy.