Introduction
During the Paleozoic Era (541 to 251.9 million years ago), fish diversified and marine organisms were very abundant. In North America, the Paleozoic is characterized by multiple advances and retreats of shallow seas and repeated continental collisions that formed the Appalachian Mountains. Common Paleozoic fossils include trilobites and cephalopods, as well as insects and ferns. The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history ended this era.
Paleozoic Resources
The Paleozoic Era is further divided in to seven periods/sub-periods: the Cambrian, the Ordovician, the Sulurian, the Devonian, the Mississippian, the Pennsylvanian, the Permian. A few examples of NPS resources in each time Period are highlighted below, from youngest to oldest.
Paleozoic "Ancient Animal Life" Coloring Pages
Visit—Paleozoic Parks
Every park contains some slice of geologic time. Below, we highlight selected parks associated with Paleozoic Era. This is not to say that a particular park has only rocks from the specified period. Rather, rocks in selected parks exemplify a certain event or preserve fossils or rocks from a certain geologic age.
- Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Texas—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Kentucky and Tennessee—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana and Wyoming—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina and Virginia—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Buffalo National River, Arkansas—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Canyonlands National Par, Utahk—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, West Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Death Valley National Park, California, Nevada—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, New Jersey & Pennsylvania—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Denali National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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George Washington Memorial Parkway, Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona and Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Great Basin National Park, Nevada—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Lake Clark National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada and Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, Minnesota—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Natchez Trace Parkway, Alabama, Mississippi & Tennessee—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- New River Gorge National River, West Virginia—[Geodiversity Atlas] ]Park Home]
- Noatak National Preserve, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Obed Wild and Scenic Rive, Tennessee—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Parashant National Monument, Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Prince William Forest Park, Virginia—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Rock Creek Park, Washington D.C.—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Russell Cave National Monument, Alabama—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Saguaro National Park, Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, Minnesota and Wisconsin—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Shenandoah National Park, Virginia—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, New York and Pennsylvania—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Whiskeytown-Trinity-Shasta National Recreation Area, California—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Yukon-Charley Rivers National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]