Page 340 - Atlas of Creation Volume 1

FOSSIL SPECIMENS DISCOVERED IN ARGENTINA

Most fossils discovered in Argentina come from the region of Patagonia, the name given to the
southern parts of Chile and Argentina on the South American continent. To the east of the Andes is the

region of Patagonia that forms part of Argentina. Today, very different life forms such as penguins,
whales, seals, wild ostriches and sea lions, can be found in this region, which is also rich in terms of the
fossil record.

One fossil bed in the region is the Ischigualasto Formation. Geological research has revealed that
some 230 million years ago, the region was a flood basin that received abundant seasonal rain and
possessed active volcanoes. This fossil bed possesses specimens of a large number of mammals and
marine life forms belonging to the Triassic Period (248 to 206 million years ago). The importance of the
region was finally realized in the 1950s, after which a great many excavations were carried out.

One fossil field in Argentina is the Jaramillo forest in Santa Cruz, consisting
of petrified trees 350 million years old. It is also an important example showing
that many plant species have remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of

years, having never undergone evolution.

Jaramillo's fossil forest of
petrified trees

ARGENTINA URUGUAY

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

Ischigualasto is a PATAGONIA
rich fossil bed today,
but approximately
230 million years
ago, it was a low-
lying basin that
flooded regularly..

338 Atlas of Creation