Fossil Day Oct 12, 2022

Fossil Day

Travel back 199 million years with a trip to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, a 95-mile-long stretch of coastline in southern England. This stunning fossil display is known as the Ammonite Pavement, where thousands of ammonite fossils are embedded in a limestone ledge at the west end of Monmouth Beach in Dorset. Although the ammonites look rather like snail shells, these are fossils of extinct sea creatures that are more closely related to today"s octopus or squid. Britain"s Natural History Museum notes that the fossil-filled ledge is unique in the world because of the sheer number and size of the ammonites: The fossils reach up to 27 inches in diameter. If you want to check them out, timing is everything—the ledge emerges at low tide, and there are more ammonites in large rocks nearby, too.

© AWL Images/Danita Delimont

palette

Today in History

Oct 12, 2018Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
Oct 12, 2019It s aboat time for the Barcolana
Oct 12, 2020Indigenous Peoples Day
Oct 12, 2021High tide at the walled city
Oct 12, 2023Farmers Day
Oct 12, 2024World Migratory Bird Day
Oct 12, 2025Village of Saranac Lake, New York

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 21, 2025Sea Otter Awareness Week
Dec 8, 2025Christmas lights in Domaso, Lake Como, Italy
Feb 8, 2020Lanterns alight in Pingxi
Oct 14, 2024Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day
Mar 5, 2021Reflecting on one of the world s strangest rivers
Nov 2, 2023Death Valley National Park, California
Dec 17, 2022Mountain goats at Glacier National Park in Montana
Jul 24, 2024Cousins Day
Nov 6, 2024Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
Nov 11, 2024Veterans Day
Jul 30, 2019A long, erratic commute
May 21, 2023Pont dArcole over the Seine river, Paris, France
Jan 3, 2025Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!
Aug 15, 2019It’s surströmming time
May 15, 2022Lunar eclipse
Jun 29, 2026International Day of the Tropics
Feb 19, 2026Dragons Eye, Uttakleiv Beach, Norway
Aug 1, 2019Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103
Jan 8, 2020Take the stairs
Oct 8, 2020An underwater rainbow
Feb 14, 2026Happy Valentines Day!
Feb 16, 2024Great Backyard Bird Count
Dec 28, 2018A species no longer at risk
Aug 29, 2020Big wheels on a big mountain
Aug 29, 2024Castellfollit de la Roca, Catalonia, Spain
Dec 19, 2025Bormio, Lombardy, Italy
Dec 11, 2019In the Himalayas for International Mountain Day
Jan 13, 2022Tasiilaq, Greenland
Jul 4, 2023Happy Independence Day!
Mar 3, 2020All eyes on sustainability