Eocene bird tracks from the Chuckanut Formation, northwest Washington

Abstract

Early Tertiary nonmarine sediments occur as a discontinuous series of outcrops that extends throughout large areas of northwest Washington and southwestern British Columbia. These fluvial and deltaic deposits contain abundant plant fossils, but faunal remains are rare. The recent discovery of an outcrop of Chuckanut Formation arkose containing nine fossil bird tracks provides the first clear evidence of terrestrial vertebrate life in the extensive coastal wetland zone that existed prior to the uplift of the Cascade Range.