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National Register of Historic Places

Mazon Creek Fossil Beds

Mazon Creek Fossil Beds is a historic place in Morris, Grundy County, Illinois, listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on September 25, 1997, and designated a National Historic Landmark. Its National Register reference number is 97001272.

Morris, Grundy County, IllinoisListed September 25, 1997NRIS #97001272★ National Historic Landmark
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Location 01

Mazon Creek Fossil Beds

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About this place

What is Mazon Creek Fossil Beds?

The Mazon Creek fossil beds are a konservat-lagerstätte found near Morris, in Grundy County, Illinois. The fossils are preserved in ironstone concretions, formed approximately 309 million years ago in the mid-Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous period. These concretions frequently preserve both hard and soft tissues of animal and plant materials, as well as many soft-bodied organisms that do not normally fossilize. The quality, quantity and diversity of fossils in the area, known since the mid-nineteenth century, make the Mazon Creek lagerstätte important to paleontologists attempting to reconstruct the paleoecology of the sites. The locality was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.

Source: Wikipedia, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Listing details

Name
Mazon Creek Fossil Beds
City
Morris
County
Grundy County
State
Illinois
Listed on the National Register
September 25, 1997
NRIS reference number
97001272
Resource type
site
National Historic Landmark
Yes
Coordinates
41.32776, -88.36410
When was Mazon Creek Fossil Beds listed on the National Register?

Mazon Creek Fossil Beds was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 25, 1997.

Where is Mazon Creek Fossil Beds located?

Mazon Creek Fossil Beds is located in Morris, Grundy County, Illinois at approximately 41.32776, -88.36410. See the map above.

Is Mazon Creek Fossil Beds a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Mazon Creek Fossil Beds is designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest federal recognition for a historic place.

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