The most diverse fossil bed in the United States provides a unique picture of what life was like 34 million years ago. In the rocks of Florissant, Colorado, lying in the shadow of Pike's Peak, is the evidence of a long-lost world. Encased by the ash of volcanoes that erupted tens of millions of years ago, animals such as insects, fish, and mammals were fossilized in the same deposits as flowers, trees, and the delicate leaves of plants. This amazing collection of animals and plants from the same place at the same time providse a rare, uniquely comprehensive glimpse of life in the past. Through more than 200 color photographs and vivid descriptions of the fossils, Herbert Meyer brings the fossils of Florissant, Colorado to life, not only providing background on the plants and animals, but also exploring the warm environment in which they lived. The site was once a treasure trove for paleontologists who acquired the fossils for museums around the world; it is now protected as Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Meyer’s book reveals the beauty of both the site and its delicate fossils, and offers a compelling story of life long ago.

In the summer of 1969, a federal district court in Denver, Colorado, heard arguments in one of the nation’s first explicitly environmental cases, in which the Defenders of Florissant, Inc. opposed real estate interests intent on developing lands containing an extraordinary set of ancient fossils. This book, the first account of the fight to preserve the Florissant fossil beds, tells a story of environmental activism that remains little known more than forty years after the coalition’s victory. The principal author, Estella Leopold, was a major participant in the process.

The Florissant formation's fossil beds and petrified forest are interesting in themselves but also shed light on questions of paleoecology, macroevolution, and taphonomy (the study of the process of fossilization). Meyer (National Park Service. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado) and Smith (U. of Colorado Museum of Natural History--Paleontology/geological sciences, UC, Boulder) introduce 11 papers examining Florissant fossil flora, fauna, mineralogy and geochemistry through different periods and via a model of the role of microbial mats in its preservation. An integrated database/Web site to further related research is also discussed. The monograph is well-illustrated with geologic maps and images of historical figures in the field and specimens, but is not indexed.

An introduction to the history and current thinking on fossils.