Museum: Natural History: Paleontology Collection

Point Reyes National Seashore Museum collections storage cabinet with paleontology specimens. Shown are fossils of brittle stars, whale bones, and shark teeth.

NPS / Point Reyes National Seashore Museum

Point Reyes has an interesting geological history due to its location on the Pacific Plate and because the area is transected by the San Andreas Fault Zone. For these reasons, the geology and fossils found within the park's boundaries represent different areas of the California coastline.

The numerous paleontological resources at Point Reyes National Seashore hold many opportunities for research. The 2007 Natural Resource Technical Report, Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring - San Francisco Bay Area Network, lists the known paleontological resources in the various geologic conglomerates and formations throughout the park and recommends a field-based paleontological inventory.

Visitors to the park may view a limited selection of fossils inside the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center at Drakes Beach.

Uncontrolled surface collecting by visitors and park staff is prohibited by law. Fossils found on the surface by visitors should not be removed from their original location by the finder. They should be reported to park staff (415-464-5100 x2 x5).

All researchers wishing to collect, document collections and conduct other associated collecting activities must possess an approved collecting permit. If you would like to apply for a scientific collecting permit at Point Reyes National Seashore, please visit the Integrated Resources Management Applications (IRMA) Portal website to start the process.

For more information about the museum's paleontology collections, please email the Museum Curator.

Want to know more?

• Learn about fossils and paleontology in National Parks, including laws protecting this irreplaceable natural resource.

 

Paleontological Specimens in P...

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This gallery contains examples of marine paleontological specimens collected legally at Point Reyes National Seashore by researchers. These fossils are part of the Point Reyes National Seashore Natural History collection. Most of the park's paleontology collection is preserved off-site at non-federal collection facilities such as the University of California at Berkeley Museum of Paleontology or the California Academy of Sciences to make them accessible to more researchers. Fossils are protected under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA), signed into law on March 30, 2009.