What is Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument?

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument protects one of the world's richest fossil deposits, preserving remarkable evidence of life from 34 million years ago when the area was a mixed-hardwood warm temperate forest unlike today's cool temperate environment. Violent volcanic eruptions caused large mudflows that buried massive redwood trees up to 300 feet tall, which over time petrified and turned to stone. Later mudflows created a dam that formed ancient Lake Florissant, where lake sediments became the final resting place for thousands of insects, plants, birds, fish, and other organisms whose delicate details were preserved as fossils in shale.

Over 1,700 species of fossils have been discovered here, with nearly 1,500 being insects rarely preserved in the fossil record, along with large rhinoceros-looking creatures called Brontotheres, miniature three-toed horses called Mesohippus, and even blood-sucking Tsetse flies now found only in Africa. President Richard Nixon signed the area into protection as part of the National Park System on August 20, 1969, following efforts by the Defenders of Florissant and environmental activists who formed one of the early environmental law cases. Today, visitors can walk well-maintained trails to view petrified redwood stumps and learn about this ancient ecosystem that provides a fascinating window into Colorado's prehistoric past.