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How did fossils end up on the tops of mountains?
Marine fossils form when creatures die and sink to the bottom where there is little oxygen, and are covered with sediment. If sediment continues to accumulate, after many years its weight will crush the deposit, and in combination with well known chemical processes, can cement it into sandstone. Later, if the sea floor it lifted by any of a number of (again, well understood) geological processes, what was once the sea floor can become part of a mountain. Such a mountain can form in a few million years, where fossils have been forming for 3 BILLION years.
What type of water are fossils mostly found in?
Fossils are not found in water, but rather in the sediment deposits which includes the bottom of a body of water. Fossils are especially prevalent in shallow marine environments where they may become well preserved.
What can Starfish Fossils tell us about the past?
Well for one, It can tell us that the land was once covered in water.
The remains of a once living thing?
Fossils are the remains of plants and animals that have been turned to stone.
Why are ocean fossils found at the top of the rocky mountains?
When two continental plates collide, one has to give and the other rises over the first. It there are fossils in this material, it can be pushed to the highest peaks of mountains. Evidence of this is found in the grand canyon where fossils of ocean creatures anr found many thousands of feet above sea level.
How Materials of mountains once under water?
nope
How can rocks on high mountains have fossils?
The material on the mountains was not always up there. Mountains are generally created by what is called uplift. And places that were under water and then had remains laid down and fossilized can be uplifted through long periods of time to create mountains. The fossils are then found up there in the mountains. The geologic process is fairly well understood and modeled by geologists.
Can fish fossils be found on mountains?
not likely but it can happen ... if there is a tsunami
What evidence do you have that mountains were once part of the ocean floor?
Some were, some were not. Those that were will have sea fossils of plants and animals.
Fossils of animals that lived in the ocean have been found on land in sedimentary rock What is the best explanation for this?
The Earths crust has been moving around for millions of years. many places where we noe find fossils that lived in the ocean were once under the water. land being pushed up and the water level in the oceans dropping explain why fossils are now found on dry land.
How do scientists know that some places that had once been under water are now deserts'?
Fossils of fish and other aquatic species have been found where the desert now is.
When scientist find fish fossils buried in deserts what do you think scientist might infer from such a find?
Probably because the land where the fish fossils are found was once under the sea.
How do scientists infer that some mountains were once underwater?
By looking at the different layers of material that make up a mountain you can determine if a mountain was once under the sea. There are fossil layers within the layers of rock and soil that make up the mountain. If there are layers containing fossils consistent with sea life a scientist could infer that that mountain was once under the sea. This could be the result of higher sea levels in the past or it could be the result of tectonic processes that have formed the mountains by pushing the land high above sea level.
How did fossils end up on the tops of mountains?
Marine fossils form when creatures die and sink to the bottom where there is little oxygen, and are covered with sediment. If sediment continues to accumulate, after many years its weight will crush the deposit, and in combination with well known chemical processes, can cement it into sandstone. Later, if the sea floor it lifted by any of a number of (again, well understood) geological processes, what was once the sea floor can become part of a mountain. Such a mountain can form in a few million years, where fossils have been forming for 3 BILLION years.
What can fossils tells us about the past?
Well for one, It can tell us that the land was once covered in water.
How do you locate fossils?
fossils can be anywhere a dinosaur once lived
Why are ocean fossils found on top of Rocky Mountains?
Obviously the soil and rocks that are now on top of the mountain were once underneath the ocean. This occurs when the ground is raised up from beneath the sea by plates colliding and raising mountains.
