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Million dollar view + millions of fossils: Falls of the Ohio State Park wows visitors F alls of the Ohio State Park Interpretive Naturalist Jeremy gram. ���They think it���s 100 miles away ... But it���s the reason why Beavin chuckled as he described some ��rst-time visitors there are 1.2 million people here in this area.��� who don���t realize they have just trod on history millions A recently retired IT professional, Olliges said he loves the of years in the making. ���mesh of the science, the history, the engineering aspect, river ���We���ll get people who will go down there and walk on the dynamics and geography��� at the park. fossil beds for an hour and come back up and say ���Where are ���There���s a whole bunch of stu�� that went on here, and it���s the fossils?���,��� he said. ���Our task is to really broaden people���s really signi��cant from the paleontology end and history and image of what a fossil is and show them what these are. A lot of geology,��� he said. ���The falls of these rapids are the reason these people���s thoughts of fossils are dinosaurs.��� cities are here. Most of the Ohio River banks are farmland. At the park ��� situated on There���s a reason communities the banks of the Ohio River are where they are.��� ���You had mammoth, buffalo, deer, ��sh, all of in Clarksville, with specHe cited many other historitacular views of the river your birds, mussels. This was a pretty awesome cal references about the Falls, and Louisville ��� there is a including the use by Native 16,000-square-foot museum place to be ... People have known about it ever Americans in crossing the and countless fossils telling river, and the stop made by since there were humans in the area.��� the intricate story of the reGeorge Rogers Clark. gion���s history. The Falls are Olliges along with felapproximately 2.5 miles long low Naturalist at Heart Joan -Alan Goldstein in an area where the river Rose work hard to promote gradually drops nearly 30 feet. the park���s fascinating hisInterpretive Naturalist Alan tory. They lead tours, answer Goldstein explained that the questions, assist the full-time outcropping of stone jutted sta�� and consider themselves into the path of the meanderambassadors of the park. But ing river drastically shaped most of all, they want people the events of the area���s histo realize what is in their back tory, all the way back to preyard. Rose, a retired Louisville historic times. Fire and EMS professional, The Falls of the Ohio has said she recently talked to cumore accessible Devonian rious visitors from as far away fossils than any single place as Wyoming. on earth. Vast deposits of De���People come here when vonian fossils have also been they���re having a good day,��� discovered in Western Austrashe quipped ��� unlike her old lia, Goldstein said, but they job. ���I have always been an are buried in mountains in the outdoor nut, and I love the middle of a wilderness and history, the fossils, geology, are very di��cult to get to. the birds. I used to come down ���Our fossil bed, when it���s here before the building was exposed, is the most acceseven built.��� sible fossil bed in the world,��� Goldstein said. History like no other The bed is best viewed in the summer and fall when Though the park was only water levels are lower in the established in the 1990s, nariver. In the winter and spring, ture has been at work for much water levels might be 30 feet longer. Scientists estimate that higher and the fossils are imthe park is 390 million years possible to see. Visitors have old. With accessibility to 220 come from nearly 80 countries acres of fossil beds when the since the mid-1990���s to visit river is at its lowest point, visithe Falls of the Ohio to see tors can literally walk on the millions of fossils, but they fossil beds and examine hiswould like to see more. tory up close. ���People just don���t even ���We have naturalists and know this is here, even people Did you know?? geologists and volunteers that in this area,��� said Paul Olliges, can help visitors identify and a Falls volunteer and member Southern Indiana used to be a massive sea ��oor. Above is a know what they���re looking of the Naturalist at Heart pro- diorama of what the Devonian sea ��oor may have looked like. at,��� said Naturalist and Vol- March/April 2013 ��� 30