Did you know just minutes from downtown Bakersfield lies a fossil deposit 15 million years old? In this week's Science Sunday segment we're taking you to the Ernst Quarries at Sharktooth Hill, one of the most significant marine fossil sites in the world!
Owner/operator Robert Ernst sat down with our Chief Meteorologist Elaina Rusk to explain some of the most significant discoveries unearthed at that Miocene Era bonebed right here in our own backyard.
Science Sundays: Digging Up Discoveries
Ernst also told us the history of the region, including how Sharktooth Hill was discovered and then preserved. Check it out:
Science Sunday: A deeper dig into Kern County's paleontology
- To learn more about the Ernst Quarries at Sharktooth Hill, including the contact information to visit the property or request a bucket of materials, visit their website.
- Ernst referenced the Sharktooth Hill fossils that are on display at our local museum, and you can visit the site for the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History.
- Here's the site referenced on maps in the video of the history of the region, where students can click here to learn more about California's historic geology.
