Connecting the environment of the ancient past with the natural and cultural history of yesterday and today.















 

 

Curious about the fossil beds? Take a Virtual Tour!

View of the fossil beds at the Falls of the Ohio from the deck.

View of the fossil beds from the Interpretive Center Deck

Limestone sculpted by the Ohio River.
Sculpted limestone along the river's edge

What Is Limestone?

Limestone is a type of sedimentary rock made of calcium carbonate. Limestone can be composed of skeletal remains of organisms, chemically precipitated from sea water that is super-saturated with calcium carbonate or a combination of both.

The limestone at the Falls of the Ohio is composed of skeletal remains from countless numbers of corals, stromatoporoid sponges, echinoderms, brachiopods, mollusks, arthropods, and microscopic organisms.

It is called the Jeffersonville Limestone (after the city of Jeffersonville which was originally at the upper end of the Falls) and dates from the latest Early Devonian to Middle Devonian. (Geologists call this Emsian and Eifelian Age - 390 to about 380 million years ago).

Steps that lead down to the fossil beds.

Let's explore the fossil beds!