This wintry view comes from Oregon’s Painted Hills, part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and home to one of the most complete fossil records on the planet. Paleontologists have uncovered fossils here that date as far back as 44 million years ago, when this region had a hot, wet, subtropical climate, home to crocodiles and rhino-like plant eaters. And what’s above ground here is equally impressive. This is only a glimpse of the portion of the monument called the Painted Hills, named for its vivid colors that are a result of layers of sediment from various geologic periods.
There’s treasure in them thar hills
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Overlooking the Douro
-
A bull, some flowers, and a stratovolcano
-
Happy Arbor Day!
-
Birds of a feather
-
Carnival comes to Olinda
-
Let the harvest begin
-
The aftermath of a meteorite
-
Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
-
Sands of time
-
Night of the ‘Cold Moon’
-
Happy holidays!
-
A medieval Moorish gem
-
What kind of bird laid these eggs?
-
On the hunt
-
The Pearl of Siberia
-
A history of Vinland
-
Welcome to the Hoh
-
Construction workers resting above Manhattan
-
It s World Bee Day
-
Moving as one