Fossils

NPS/R Seely

Significance of Paleontological Resources at Parashant

Paleontological resources, or fossils, are any evidence of past life preserved in geologic context. Parashant is one of 18 National Park Service units for which paleontological resources are specifically mentioned in the establishing proclamation. The presidential proclamation establishing Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument describes the geology in some detail, including several sentences dealing with invertebrate paleontology.

“Fossils are abundant in the monument. Among these are large numbers of invertebrate fossils, including bryozoans and brachiopods located in the Calville limestone of the Grand Wash Cliffs, and brachiopods, pelecypods, fenestrate bryozoa, and crinoid ossicles in the Toroweap and Kaibab formations of Whitmore Canyon. There are also sponges in nodules and pectenoid pelecypods throughout the Kaibab formation of Parashant Canyon.” - Presidential Proclamation 7265

The geology of Parashant includes a better representation of younger rocks than Grand Canyon National Park, where the section essentially stops in the Permian. Parashant is therefore more illustrative of Mesozoic and Cenozoic events than the Grand Canyon.