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.

To provide greater access for researchers, the Point Reyes National Seashore Museum's paleontology and geology collections are housed mainly at off-site non-federal repositories, such as the University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley.

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

The cliffs along Drakes Bay in particular are known to contain a variety of fossils including potentially unknown species of sea mammals. Due to the friability of the formations, new fossils are regularly exposed and fall to the beach below. It may be appropriate to remove scientifically-significant specimens for museum storage or be stabilized in situ.

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).

If materials are turned in to park staff, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that the visitor collects no more material, that precise provenience information is recorded, if possible, and that the objects/data are promptly delivered to the museum curator. As of 2022, the museum curator position is vacant.

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 contact the Museum Curator. As of 2022, the museum curator position is vacant.

Want to know more?

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