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 Grey Fossil Site ~ Grey Station, Tennessee
N 36° 23.165 W 082° 29.900
17S E 365615 N 4027814
The Gray Site is a Miocene-epoch assemblage of fossils located near the unincorporated town of Gray, Tennessee in Washington County, and dates from 7 to 4.5 million years ago.
Waymark Code: WMV3PW
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 02/18/2017
Views: 2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"East Tennessee State University and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site in northeast Tennessee.
The Gray Site is a Miocene-epoch assemblage of fossils located near the unincorporated town of Gray, Tennessee in Washington County, and dates from 7 to 4.5 million years ago. The Gray Fossil Site was discovered by geologists in May 2000. They were investigating unusual clay deposits turned up during the course of a Tennessee Department of Transportation highway project to widen State Route 75 south of its intersection with Interstate 26.
State Route 75 was realigned to protect the find by order of Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist, and a museum and research center at the dig operated by East Tennessee State University opened in August 2007.
The current dig at the Gray Fossil Site was determined to have been the location of a semi-circular sinkhole that once harbored a pond environment over a long period of time and is now yielding the remains of the ancient plants and animals that lived, watered, and died within the then watery sinkhole. Among the many vertebrate fossils found at the Gray Fossil Site are those of frogs, turtles and tapirs and recovered fossil records represent finds from approximately one percent of the total area of the Gray Fossil Site that has been explored --- and future fossil recovery from the entire site is projected to continue on for one hundred years.
The Gray Fossil Site is also the world's largest tapir fossil find and is yielding new and rare discoveries such as the most complete skeleton of Teleoceras (an ancient rhinoceros) yet found in eastern North America, a new species of red panda that marks only the second record of this animal in North America (the first red panda fossils found in North America come from the state of Washington), and a newly identified species of an ancient plant-eating badger."
Ticket Information
Museum Exhibits
Adults & children (ages 3+) $5.00
Children (2 & younger) FREE
Members receive FREE admission
Dig Site Tours (with Museum admission)
Adults & children (ages 3+) $3.00
Children (2 & Younger) FREE
Members receive one free tour per year.
Museum Hours
Tuesday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am-5:00pm
Sunday 1:00 pm-5:00pm
Monday 9:00 am-5:00 pm (June, July, & August only).
What kinds of fossils are found here:
Fossils found here and on exhibit include a saber-toothed cat, short-faced bear, ground sloth, rhinoceros, alligator, camel, shovel-tusked elephant, Eurasian badger, tapirs, and a red panda.
Admission Fee: yes
Link for more information about this site: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:At least one good photo you have personally obtained and a brief story of your visit. Any additions or corrections to the information about the Waymark (for instance, have the hours open to the public changed) will be greatly appreciated.
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