home   Printer friendly version Add to site
Advanced search
Time & Space Fossil Gallery Famous Flora & Fauna
Careers Resources K-12 Collections PaleoPeople

The Carboniferous in California, US

Carboniferous in California map

undifferentiated rock units help

Geologic map of CA from California Geological Survey (625 KB PDF)

Choose a time period:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian

Carboniferous Fossils
Fossil photos from Carboniferous in California

Previous (8 slides) Next
Search the fossil gallery

Paleontology and geology

Most of California was under water during the Carboniferous, and the warm coastal waters were inhabited by algae, bryozoans, crinoids, molluscs, corals, and cartilaginous fish. On land, the swamps and estuarine environments were home to horsetails, ferns, and large seed-bearing plants (gymnosperms) like seed ferns (extinct gymnosperms) and club mosses (lycophytes), as well as very large insects. Carboniferous rocks containing marine fossils are not shown on this map, but can be found to the north in Shasta County and to the south in Inyo County. All of these rocks were most likely exotic terranes that rafted in from the west by tectonic activity, and accreted onto the continent.

Links to more on the Carboniferous in California

Resources

Resources

Courses and Lectures (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Paleogeography of the Southwestern U.S.: The paleogeography of the southwestern U.S. from 1.8 billion years ago to 10 million years ago. Text and images by Dr. Ron Blakey from Northern Arizona University.

top Top of List

Image Collections (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Some Fossil Brachiopods: Images of several fossil brachiopods, dating in geologic age from early Cambrian to Pleistocene, with explanatory text.

top Top of List

Field Guides (showing 1 of 1 listings)

High Inyo Mountains Fossils, Inyo Country, California: Visit a classic 325-million-year-old fossil locality near the crest of California's Inyo Mountains; detailed text; images of fossils; scenic images.

top Top of List

General Reference (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Fossils In Death Valley National Park: The paleontology, geology and natural wonders of Death Valley National Park (and more); many images of fossils; field trips; paleontology links, plus links to Death Valley.

top Top of List


Oregon State Map
Nevada State Map
Arizona State Map
Northwest Mexico Region Map