Mammoth Tusk fossil found at the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill
in Irvine.
Mammoth Tusk
Did you know that landfills are a nice
place to look for fossils? Most construction projects
involve rapid movement of whatever earth is to be moved
and then building on the freshly graded and compacted
soil. Landfills are different in that the soil movement
is a gradual and continuous project. Therefore, any fossils
unearthed may be in view long enough to be detected. All
of the Orange County landfills are built in fossiliferous
strata, so IWMD is required to have a paleontologist on-site
during all excavation.
What happens to fossils found? They are the property of
the County and are usually sent to the Ralph B. Clark
Regional Park in Buena Park, where the County has a fossil
exhibit. Less valuable fossils are stored in the County's
fossil warehouse. IWMD also has the option to keep fossils
on the sites where they are found. There is a nice display
in the office at the Frank R. Bowerman (FRB) landfill.
Others were displayed in our booth at the fair and are
now on display in the reception area at headquarters.
Since paleontologists only tend to research fossils that
are cataloged in an accredited museum, a number of our
landfill finds, including the camel remains from FRB,
were taken to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum,
so that their significance could be evaluated. There is
no accredited natural history museum in Orange County.
A couple of years or so ago, a fossilized whalebone and
palm frond were unearthed at the Prima Deshecha landfill.
They were among the oldest fossils found in the County.
At FRB, camel, rodent, lizard, carnivore and oreodont
remains were found as well as mammoth and bison at the
retarding basin. Olinda Alpha landfill produced the first
Argonaut fossils found in Orange County. Sharks teeth
are common finds during excavation.
When a particularly fossiliferous area is encountered,
the soil and rocks containing the fossils are collected
and washed through a series of screens. This process recovers
the smaller bones that are not readily visible. Much of
our information on ancient cultures and creatures comes
from finding their buried trash. IWMD adds to the scientific
database in the process of digging to bury today's trash.
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