John Day Fossil Beds National Monument includes three areas in north-central Oregon that contain fossils of animals and plants that lived from about 55 million to about 10 million years ago. The area is the first national monument in which scientists have found fossils from five prehistoric epochs (ages) that followed one another consecutively. Congress authorized the national monument in 1974. It was established in 1975. For the area of the monument, see National Park System (table: National monuments).
