Geology & Fossils
Between 250 and 280 million years ago, North America crashed into Africa and Europe, raising the Appalachian Mountains. Before that, the sea came and went, covering parts of West Virginia.
Almost all of West Virginia’s fossils represent creatures that lived before the birth of the Appalachians. Some of these fossils are of marine invertebrates. These are found mostly in eastern West Virginia, though ancient seas sometimes reached farther west.
Ancient forests are recalled by abundant plant fossils in central and western West Virginia. Many are associated with the state’s abundant coal, which itself is made of ancient plants. There are also a few amphibian and insect fossils.
Rocks that might contain fossils of the dinosaurs that evolved later have been worn away by wind and water. However, fossils of Pleistocene, or Ice Age, mammals are scattered across West Virginia. Some fossils are found in caves, where the living creatures might have sought shelter long ago. Others are found in sinkholes. Even today, animals may fall into limestone sinkholes — holes that water erodes out of soft limestone — and become trapped.
Coal Fossils
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| Alethopteris | Alloiopteris | Alloiopteris(2) | Eremopteris | Eusphenopteris |
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| Mariopteris | Neuropteris | Pecopteris | Sphenopteris | Rhodea |
The world’s oldest known seed was discovered in West Virginia. It is from the Devonian Period, which ended about 345 million years ago.
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