Journey to Alaska

Plant Specimens

These fossilized plants were an unexpected find in Katmai National Park. The area around Naknek Lake where they were discovered was believed to be part of a rock sequence that was approximately 200 million years old. Yet the presence of these plants indicates that the rocks are much younger - perhaps only 65 to 25 million years old. Regardless of the precise age in millions of years, these plants are part of a previously unrecognized chapter in the geologic history of Katmai National Park and the Alaska Peninsula.

Fossil conifer tree

Dryopteris (modern relative = fern)

Ulmus leaf (modern relative = Elm)

Carya leaf (modern relative = Hickory, Pecan)

Carpinus leaf (modern relative = Birch)