User:Abyssal/Paleontology in West Virginia

Paleontology in West Virginia refers to the scientific study of the prehistoric life that once inhabited this U.S. state. The region lacks major museums and there are only a few places in the state where fossils are on display. Nevertheless, West Virginia's long and storied geologic history ensures that it is a good source of fossils in its own right. West Virginia's mountainous terrain exposes a wide variety of rocks and has necessitated the excavation of a large number of road cuts. Many of these natural and artificial exposures abound in fossils that invite the adventurous collector. The fossils of West Virginia are mostly early Paleozoic marine invertebrates and, especially, Carboniferous plants.

Understand

West Virginia's fossil record begins in the Cambrian, about 500 million years ago. From that time through the rest of the early Paleozoic, the state was at least partially submerged under a shallow sea. The Paleozoic seas of West Virginia were home to creatures like ammonoids, bivalves, blastoids, bryozoans, conulariid, corals, crinoids, cystoids, eurypterids, graptolites, hyolithids, nautiloids, ostracodes, pteropods, snails, sponges, stromatoporoids and trilobites at varying times. During the Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous period, the sea was replaced by lushly vegetated coastal swamps where large amphibians roamed. Contemporary plants included ferns, horsetails, scale trees, and seed ferns. The rich vegetation from these swamps are the source of the state's vast, economically vital coal deposits and many of its fossils.

A gap in the local rock record spans from the Permian to the end of the Neogene, so don't get your hopes up for finding a dinosaur. The youngest fossils in West Virginia date back to the Pleistocene, popularly known as the Ice Age. West Virginia was never the site of glacial activity during the Ice Age, but the state was home to creatures like mammoths, mastodons, and giant ground sloths.

Stay safe

A brief summary of general fossil collecting safety hazards as well as more distinctly local threats.

Law and ethics

A general summary of US laws governing fossil collection and transport as well as local statutes.

See

Natural history museums, interpretive centers, fossil themed national parks, etc.

• West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey Museum
• The Lost World Caverns Visitor Center and Natural History Museum
• Bluestone Museum
• West Virginia Natural History Museum, Morgantown

Events

Fossil shows, gem and mineral shows that a traveler might want to visit.

• Cheat Lake Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show

• Sunset Fossils and Minerals check to see if this one is a store

Clubs and associations

Clubs and associations often have field trips and the fossil-minded tourist may want to make arrangements to participate in.

Pay-to-dig services

There are services out there where you can pay for the privilege of collecting from certain fossil sites or participating in excavations.

Volunteer opportunities

Some institutions like natural history museums use volunteers.

Collect fossils independently

A list of places in the state where fossil can be found and what fossils can be found there. This would be the bulk of the article.

• Bethany: A little over one mile east of Bethany is a road cut alongside Route 67 where late Pennsylvanian fossils can be collected from the Monongahela Group. Only a few plant species are preserved here, but they are preserved in exquisite detail. Fossils that can be collected here include the horsetail Annularia stellata and seed fern Neuropteris scheuzeri.

• Baker: Four to five miles south of Baker are a series of roadcuts exposing the middle Devonian Mahantango Formation where fossils can be collected. Large, well-preserved specimens of the brachiopod Spinocyrtia granulosa are common, and large, well preserved Tropidoleptus carinatus specimens can also be found in the area. Like the aforementioned brachiopods, some of the local Fenestella bryozoans are also fairly large. Other local fossils include bivalves, corals, the gastropod Loxonema hamiltonae, straight-shelled nautiloids, and trilobites.

• Baxter: A mile and a quarter north of Baxter proper, near Tihance Creek, Devonian fossils can be found at a limestone exposure along a country road at the northwest end of Ferrell Ridge. Local fossils include a great variety of brachiopods as well as the trilobites Dalmanites and Phacops.

Schellwienella,Rhipidomella,Leptostrophia,Rensselaeria,,Meristella,Spirifer,Actinopteria,

Phacops,Dalmanites

• Capon Lake, Hardy County: Just to the south of Capon Lake, five miles south of Wardensville, is a quarry where early to middle Devonian fossils can be found in the rocks of the Needmore Formation. Local fossils include the ammonoid Agoniatites venuxemi, bivalves, brachiopods, the nautiloid Michelinoceras subulatum, the conularid Conularia, horn corals, crinoids, the gastropod Loxonema, ostracodes, and trilobites.

• Davis: Abundant plant fossils can be found at a local road cut.

• Falls: A quarter of a mile northwest of town at the eastern end of Greenland Gap fossils of the Devonian brachiopod Spirifer can be collected from exposures of the Ridgeley Sandstone along Patterson Creek.

• Franklin: A little over 8 miles is a road cut and quarry where early to middle Devonian fossils can be collected from rocks of the Needmore Formation. Notable fossils that can be found here include nautiloids whose remains have turned into fool's gold and well-preserved specimens of the trilobite Phacops. Other local fossils include the bivalve Praecardium multiradiatum, brachiopods, straight-shelled nautiloids, corals, crinoids, and the gastropod Loxonema.

  About 9 miles southeast of Franklin late Silurian to early Devonian fossils can be found in the road cuts alongside Route 23. The most common fossils here seem to be the brachiopod Nucleospira elegans. Other local fossils include calcareous algae, the bryozoan Fenestella, corals, cystoids, the gastropod Platyceras, sponges, and trilobites. Author Jasper Burns has recommended this site for its ease of collecting and beautiful scenery.

  Twelve miles west of Franklin proper and half of a mile east of the Germany Valley Overlook is a series of roadcuts along Route 33 where late Ordovician fossils can be collected from the Reedsville Formation. Most specimens in this area are fragmentary. Local fossils include bivalves like Ambonychia, brachiopods like Orthorhynchula, bryozoans, crinoids, the gastropod Sinuites, the graptolite Climacograptus, straight shelled nautiloids like Michelinoceras, very large ostracodes, and trilobites like Isotelus.

• Gap Mills: Just short of two and a half miles east of Keenan and just over two miles west of Gap Mills are road cuts where late Mississippian fossils can be collected from the Greenbrier Group. The most common fossils here are the brachiopod Inflatia inflata. Other local fossils include the blastoid Pentremites, the bryozoan Fenestella, corals, crinoids, gastropods, and trilobites.

• Hebron: Brachiopods can be found in the road cut across from Hebron Church.

• Hedgesville: Half of a mile northwest of Hedgesville is a road cut alongside Route 9 where middle Devonian fossils can be collected from the Mahantango Formation. The most common fossils here are the brachiopods Mucrospirifer and Spinocyrtia. Other local fossils include bivalves, the bryozoan Fenestella, the coral Heterophrentis, crinoids, the gastropod Pembexia, pteropods, and trilobites.

• Hillsboro: About two miles southeast of Hillsboro late Mississippian fossils preserved in rocks from the Greenbrier Group can be recovered from the bed of Locust Creek. Most of the fossils here are horn corals belonging to the genus Acrocyathus, some of which are actually slightly translucent. Other local fossils include brachiopods and crinoids.

• Keenan: Just short of two and a half miles east of Keenan and just over two miles west of Gap Mills are road cuts where late Mississippian fossils can be collected from the Greenbrier Group. The most common fossils here are the brachiopod Inflatia inflata. Other local fossils include the blastoid Pentremites, the bryozoan Fenestella, corals, crinoids, gastropods, and trilobites.

• Lost City: Lost City is home to an outcrop of the middle Devonian Mahantango Formation where fossils can be collected. Notable local fossils include bivalves, brachiopods, the bryozoan Fenestella, corals, calices of the crinoid Arthroacantha, the gastropod Platyceras, the large straight-shelled nautiloid Spyroceras, and trilobites. Some of the local Phacops trilobites have been turned to fool's gold. Many of the local fossils are covered in little glittery crystals.

• Marlinton: About fifteen miles northwest of Marlinton is a series of road cuts alongside Scenic Route 150 where middle Pennsylvanian fossils can be collected from the Kanawha Formation. This area preserves a great abundance and diversity of plant fossils, including the remains of roots, long sections of trunk, stems, leaves, and seeds from several species. The local plant taxa include seed ferns, the giant horsetail Calamites, and the giant scale tree Lepidodendron.

• Moorefield: Six miles south of Moorefield is a road cut and quarry where middle Devonian fossils can be collected from the Mahantango Formation. Well-preserved brachiopods in the genera Mucrospirifer and Spinatrypa can be found here, as can detailed specimens of the trilobites Phacops and Trimerus. Other local fossils include the bivalve Modiomoprha concentrica, the bryozoan Fenestella, corals, crinoids, the gastropod Loxonema hamiltoniae, and the straight-shelled nautiloid Michelinoceras.

• Perry: Three miles south of Perry proper is a road cut exposure of the Martinsburg Formation with a variety of late Ordovician fossils. Most are poorly preserved and distorted, however, they are often stained bright orange or yellow and stand out starkly against the dark green shale. Fossils that can be found here include bivalves, brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids like Ectenocrinus simplex, the graptolite Climacograptus, the straight-shelled nautiloid Michelinoceras, and trilobites, especially Cryptolithus.

• Romney: Just beyond the eastern edge of a quarry a little over two miles west of Romney are rocks of the Tonoloway Formation and Helderberg Group that contain fossils of late Silurian to early Devonian age. This site especially notable for the well-preserved coral Favosites limitaris. They don't look like much in the field, but clean up beautifully with acid. Other fossils include brachiopods, bryozoans, the cystoid Pseudocrinites, and the big ostracode Leperditia.

• Rio: Roughly four miles north of Rio and one mile and half south of Delray is a road cut alongside Route 11 where middle Devonian fossils can be collected from the Mahantango Formation. A great diversity of fossils can be found here, including the ammonoid Agoniatities, bivalves, brachiopods, bryozoans, corals. crinoids, the straight-shelled nautiloid Michelinoceras, gastropods and trilobites.

• Tomahawk: A quarter of a mile west of Tomahawk alongside Ferrell Ridge, Devonian fossils can be collected from the Devonian Port Jervis Formation. Local fossils include a great variety of brachiopods, the bryozoan Cyphotrypa, the gastropod Platyceras, and the trilobite Homalonotus.

Meristella,Eatonia,Dalmanites,Rensselaeria,Chonetes,Actinopteria,Rhipidomella,Spirifer,

• Upper Tract: One mile north of Upper Tract, a variety of early Devonian fossils are widespread through the local rocks of the Corriganville Formation|Corriganville and Oriskany Formations. Rocks of the Oriskany Sandstone are more common here than those of the Corriganville, but most of its fossils are poorly preserved and difficult to extract from the hard matrix. Local Oriskany fossils include the brachiopods Rensellaeria and Costispirifer, crinoids, the gastropod Platyceras, tentaculitids and the giant trilobite Trimerus. Like the Oriskany Sandstone, the Corriganville formation is hard enough to hinder the collection of its abundant fossils. The brachiopods Eatonia and Leptaena are common, as are pieces of the large trilobites Dalmanites pleuropteyx and Trimerus. Other local fossils include calcareous algae, bryozoans, the coral Favosites helderbergiae, crinoids, and the gastropod Platyceras. The route to this site overlooks a beautiful gorge for several miles.

• Waiteville: About 3 miles to the southwest of town is a roadcut at the side of Route 635 where middle Silurian fossils can be collected from the Rose Hill Formation. Fossils are very common here but are fragmentary. Like the Perry site, they are often brightly colored in hues of orange, yellow, or, less commonly, pink. Local fossils include bivalves, brachiopods, bryozoans, straight-shelled nautiloids, ostracodes, Tentaculites, and trilobites, especially Calymene cresapensis.

• Wardensville: Slightly less than two miles east of Wardensville is a series of road cuts alongside Route 55 where middle Devonian fossils can be collected from the exposed rocks of the Mahantango Formation. Local fossils include the ammonoid Agoniatites, bivalves, brachiopods, the bryozoan Fenestella, the straight-shelled nautiloid Michelinoceras, corals, crinoids, gastropods, tentaculitids, as well as trilobites like Phacops and Trimerus. Some of the local Agoniatites specimens have been turned to fool's gold.

  Roughly four miles west of Wardensville is a quarry where a great diversity of early to middle Devonian fossils can be collected from the rocks of the Needmore Formation. This great diversity of fossils is attributable to the large variety of rock layers here, all of which formed in different kinds of marine environment. Some of the brachiopods and nautiloids in the site's dark gray shale layer, notably, have been turned into fool's gold. Other local fossils include the ammonoid Agoniatites vanuxemi, bivalves, the bryozoan Fenestella, corals, crinoids, gastropods, the nautiloid Michelinoceras subulatum, pteropods, and a variety of trilobites, notably multiple species of Phacops.

  Five miles west of Wardensville proper late Silurian to early Devonian fossils from the Keyser Formation can be found along the banks of the Lost River. At least some of the collecting grounds here are apparently on private land, so make sure you dot your "i"s and cross your "t"s regarding permission to collect at any given exposure. The corals Favosites and Halysites are common here. Other local fossils include the brachiopod Cupulorostrum, crinoids, and stromatoporoids.

  Five miles south of Wardensville, is a quarry where early to middle Devonian fossils can be found in the rocks of the Needmore Formation. Local fossils include the ammonoid Agoniatites venuxemi, bivalves, brachiopods, the nautiloid Michelinoceras subulatum, the conularid Conularia, horn corals, crinoids, the gastropod loxonema, ostracodes, and trilobites.

• Wheeling: About four and a half miles northeast of Wheeling are a series of boulders from the Monongahela Group along Long Run, where late Pennsylvanian fossils can be found. The most common local fossil is the fern Pecopteris, but others include fish, the gymnosperm Cordaites, horsetails, the scale tree Lepidophyllum, and seed ferns.

• Williamsport: A very short distance east of town fossils can be collected from exposures of Devonian limestone along a small creek. Local fossils include corals and the sponge Stromatopora.

• Yellow Spring: Two miles north of Yellow Spring along the banks of the Cacapon River are a road cut and natural exposures of the early to middle Devonian Needmore Formation where fossils can be found. Well preserved trilobites in the genera Phacops and Coronura can be collected from freshly extracted rock. The exposed rock is highly weathered and the fossils damaged. Other local fossils include the ammonoid Agoniatites vanuxemi, the bivalve Praecardium multiradiatum, brachiopods, the bryozoan Fenestella, corals, crinoids, gastropods, the hyolithid Hyolithes, coalified fragments of plant material, and trace fossils of animal trails across or through the ancient sediment.

http://rockingwiththerocks.com/davis_fossils.html

http://www.wvgs.wvnet.edu/www/geoeduc/FieldTrip/GeologyFieldTripGuide.pdf

http://www.fossilsites.com/STATES/WV.HTM

• Alvon:

Alvon Greenbrier WV Alvon on SE side of Anthony Creek near Knapp Creek Bridge Devonian Port Jervis Favosites,Pleurodictyum,Schellwienella,Spirifer,Meristella,Dalmanites,Homalonotus WV0009

• Bods Ridge: | ,

Bods Ridge Greenbrier WV SW end along Howard Creek Devonian Spirifer,Hipparionyx,Rhipidomella,Schellwienella,Dalmanites WV0010

• Caldwell: | ,

Caldwell Greenbrier WV 0.62 miles NW on I64 Mississippian Price diverse ichnofossils WV0011 |

• White Sulphur Springs: ,

White Sulfur Springs Greenbrier WV Bob's Ridge Devonian trilobite-Trimerus WV0012

• Capon Bridge: | ,

Capon Bridge Hampshire WV In Roadside Quarry Exposure of Devonian Middle Mahantango Fossils include Phacops trilobites,Michelinoceras nautiloids,brachiopods. WV0013

• Capon Lake: | ,

Capon Lake Hampshire WV In road cut Trilobites,crinoids WV0014 |

,

• Hanging Rock:

Hanging Rock Hampshire WV along US50 Devonian Keyser Stromatopora,crinoid fragments,bryozoa WV0015

• Purgitsville: | ,

Purgitsville Hampshire WV 3.1 miles E along road along Camp Run,N of Taylor Knob on W flank of Mill Creek Mountain Anticline Devonian Spirifer,Leptostrophia,Chonostrophia,Coelospira,Eatonia,ostracods WV0016 |

• Romney:

Romney Hampshire WV 4 miles N along Potomac River in RR cuts in water gap through Mill Creek Mountain Devonian Ridgeley Sandstone|Keyser, Upper Limestone Spirifer,Cyphotrypa WV0017

• Yellow Spring:

| , Yellow Spring Hampshire WV 1.86 miles from WV14/US220 junction in roadcut on Cacapon River Devonian brachiopods,Cephalopods-Agoniatites,Trilobites-Coronura,Odontocephalus,Phacops; WV0018 | ,

Baker Hardy WV N on WV259 in steep road cuts. Parking is a problem ? WV0019

• Baker:

| , Baker Hardy WV on WV259 in road cuts coral and brachiopod molds WV0020 | , Brake Hardy WV 0.868 miles W along road along Dumpling Run Devonian Port Jervis Limestone abundant Rensselaeria,Dalmanites,Homalonotus WV0021

• Johnstown: | ,

Johnstown Hardy WV W along Moyer Gap-Sugar Grove Road Devonian Port Jervis Limestone abundant Rensselaeria,Dalmanites,Homalonotus WV0022

• Lost River: | ,

Lost River Hardy WV Trilobites WV0023 | , Lost River Hardy WV in roadcut on WV55 4.5 miles W of Wardensville Devonian trilobites-Odontocephalus,Odontopleura,Phacops,brachiopods,crinoids,mollusks,coral WV0024

• Lost River Village: | ,

Lost River Village Hardy WV 0.62 miles E along Mill Gap Run Ridgeley Sandstone|Port Ewen chert Spirifer,Meristella,Leptocoelia,Coelospira,Tentaculites,Leptostrophia,Eospirifer WV0025 'Leptostrophia' was 'Septostrophia' in original

• Wardensville: | ,

Wardensville Hardy WV 4 miles SW along Trout Run Devonian Keyser Limestone Stenochisma,Uncinulus,Spirifer WV0026 | , Wardensville Hardy WV almost six miles S on WV55 Devonian Trilobites-Phacops,cephalopods,crinoids,corals,bryozoa WV0027 | , Wardensville Hardy WV E Fossils-Brachiopods WV0028 | ,

• Clarksburg:

Clarksburg Harrison WV N in siltstones in low road cut on entrance road to FBI Center Pennsylvanian fish teeth,bones,coprolites,fish scales. WV0029

• Logan: | ,

Logan Logan WV almost four miles N on WV119 in debris from WalMart/Lowes plaza excavation Pennsylvanian Kanawha Plants-Annularia WV0030

• Princeton:

Princeton Mercer WV At Highwall Park fossils WV0032 | , Princeton Mercer WV At construction site near the community hospital Pennsylvanian Plants-Calamites,Lepidodendron,ferns,etc WV0033 | , Princeton Mercer WV Fossils are in a RR cut in Oakvale. Most apparently are in very hard rock and are difficult to extract Mississippian? blastoids WV0034 | , Princeton Mercer WV In I460 road cuts a few fossils-blastoids;brachiopods;corals WV0035 | ,

• Keyser:

Keyser Mineral WV slightly over two miles SE along WC46 on E slope of Knobbly Mountain Devonian Keyser coral-Stromatopora,Favosites,Cyathophyllum. WV0036 | , Keyser Mineral WV slighlty over four miles SW in quarries and road cuts Devonian Keyser coral-Stromatopora,Favosites,Cyathophyllum. WV0037

• New Creek: | ,

New Creek Mineral WV at intersection of US220-US50 Devonian Ridgeley|Port Jervis Limestone Spirifer,Leptostrophia,Rensselaeria,Cyathophyllum WV0038

• Gladesville: | ,

Gladesville Monongalia WV in old strip mine in Pennsylvanian Freeport Coal, Lower plants and rare myriopods -Acantherpestes WV0039 |

• Greer:

, Greer Monongalia WV Mississippian Mauch Chunk vertebrates-Greererpeton WV0040 | , Greer Quarry Monongalia WV Mississippian amphibian-Greererpeton WV0041 |

• Morgantown: ,

Morgantown Monongalia WV a little over three miles N on E side of I-79 near - at interface between limestones and sandstones Pennsylvanian Fish teeth,bone fragments,scales,coprolites. WV0042 | , Morgantown Monongalia WV along I68 and at some exits Pennsylvanian Ames Limestone fossils WV0043

| , Haynes Cave Monroe WV Pleistocene Megalonyx claws WV0044 | , Patton Cave Monroe WV Pleistocene Platygonus WV0045 | ,

• Berkeley Springs:

Berkeley Springs Morgan WV almost two thirds of a mile W at crest of Warm Spring Mountain along WV9 Devonian Helderberg Enterolasma,Edriocrinus,Eatonia,Spirifer,Meristella,etc. WV0046 | , Berkeley Springs Morgan WV at Pennsylvania Glass Sand Quarry in Sandstone and Shale corals,crinoids,plant fragments WV0047 | , Berkeley Springs Morgan WV at Pennsylvania Glass Sand Quarry in Sandstone and Shale corals,crinoids,plant fragments WV0048 | , Cacapon river Morgan WV Trilobites

• Summersville:

Summersville Nicholas WV N on WV19 to Spruce Run Rd. W about 6.82 miles to Buffalo Creek and Ramp Run Surface Mine #1 Pennsylvanian Kanawha Plants-Annularia,Asterophyllites WV0051 | ,

• Elm Grove:

Elm Grove Ohio WV Permian Dunkard Group along I70 --vertebrates Diploceraspis,Edops,Lysorophus WV0052 | , Elm Grove Ohio WV In the Waynesburg Coal bed in the Permian Washington Plants WV0053 |

, Hamilton Cave Pendleton WV Late Irvingtonian Cheetah Room fauna,mammal bones Pliocene Mammal Bones WV0054 | ,

• Judy Gap:

Judy Gap Pendleton WV in road cuts 1.86-3 miles E on US33 Ordovician Reedsville Brachiopods-Orthorhynchula,Lingula;Bivalves-Ambonychia,Ischyrodonta,Modiolopsis,Tancredopsis;Trilobites-Isotelus;Gastropods-Plectonotus WV0055

• Moatstown: | ,

Moatstown Pendleton WV 1.24 miles SSE along country road coral Stromatopora,Chonetes,Cyphotrypa WV0056 | , Oak Flat Pendleton WV one and a half miles W along US33 in Hivelt[?] Gap Devonian Port Jervis Limestone Schellwienella,Rensselaeria,Spirifer,Tentaculites,Dalmanites,Edriocrinus,Coelospira,Eatonia,Rhipidomella,etc WV0057 There is an unnamed (on USGS maps) gap in Dickerson Mountain roughly in the right place | ,

• Petersburg:

Petersburg Pendleton WV almost seventeen miles S at US220 bridge over Potomac River Devonian Corriganville|Oriskany brachiopods,Corals,crinoids,Gastropods,Trilobites-Trimerus,Phacops,Dalmanites WV0058 Petersburg is in Grant County | ,

• Ruddle:

Ruddle Pendleton WV nearly a mile W in Limestone Devonian Port Jervis typical faunas WV0059 | ,

• Upper Tract:

Upper Tract Pendleton WV 1.55 miles NW along road from US220 to Smoke Hole Settlement Devonian Port Jervis|Ridgeley Tentaculites,Homalonotus,Rhipidomella,Spirifer,Chonetes,Rensselaeria,Spirifer,Dalmanites,Stropheodonta WV0060 | , - Pocahontas WV In area quarries and fields Mississippian Hillsdale Limestone Large silicified heads of the coral-Lithostrotionella WV0061

• Burr: | ,

Burr Pocahontas WV along country road in small anticline Devonian Eodevonaria,Leptocoelia,Schellwienella,Reticularia,Styliolina,Ostracods WV0062 No citations for a Devonian Huntsville formation | ,

• Dunmore:

Dunmore Pocahontas WV almost two thirds of a mile E on N bank of Sitlington Creek Devonian Stromatopora,Favosites,Cladopora WV0063 | ,

• Frost:

Frost Pocahontas WV nearly three fourths of a mile WNW along Sugarcamp Creek near and above a large spring Devonian Tonoloway Limestone Leperditia WV0064 | ,

• Green Bank:

Green Bank Pocahontas WV nearly two thirds of a mile S at bend of country road in chert and dark shale Devonian Middle Huntersville Orbiculoidea,Leptocoelia,Conularia,etc WV0065 | ,

• Beckley:

Beckley Raleigh WV W in reclaimed strip mine Pennsylvanian Sandstone casts of logs

Bowden Cave Randolph WV Pleistocene Mastodon Tooth WV0068 | ,

• Elkins:

Elkins Randolph WV nearly five miles W on WV33 on N in coal seam ferns and wood. WV0069 | , Elkins Randolph WV nearly five miles W on WV33 Coal with fern impressions and some wood WV0070 | , Elkins Randolph WV In road cut West of Elkins Fossil seeds WV0071 | , Elkins Randolph WV In roadcuts from 2005 time period road construction Devonian Foreknobs ichnofossils;fish bones,teeth;brachiopods,bivalves;wood WV0072 | ,

• Berea:

Berea Ritchie WV At Hughes River Bridge Permian Reptile tracks-Dimetrodon WV0073 |

• Reedy Creek: ,

Reedy Creek Roane WV Permian Reptile-Diadectes WV0074 | , Sandstone Summers WV Road cuts 'above' town' Avis A few brachiopods and corals WV0084 |

• Atenville:

, Atenville Wayne WV W on WV68 three miles,left on Francis Creek Rd. Near Junction of Francis Creek and Kiah Creek,right on dirt road for one mile to Rollem Fork Surface Mine #2 Pennsylvanian Allegheny Plants-Annularia WV0076

• Parkersburg: ,

Parkersburg? Wood WV At Albany Limestone Quarry Pennsylvanian Fissodus WV0077 There does not seem to be an Albany,WV,Albany,Athens County,OH perhaps. Neither is there a plausible Pennsylvanian Albany formation | ,

• Huff Creek:

Huff Creek Wyoming WV nearly two thirds of a mile N near the mouth of Laurel Branch in gray silty shale Aviculopecten WV0078 | ,

• Itmann Mine:

Itmann Mine Wyoming WV Pennsylvanian Lycopods-Stigmaria WV0079 | ,

• Occana:

Occana Wyoming WV in hillside to SW and along Cedar Creek Pennsylvanian Cannelton Limestone above Matewan Coal -- Aviculopecten

• New River Gorge:

New River Gorge [?] WV Pennsylvanian Lower abundant plants-Neuropteris

• Sulphur Spring School: White Sulphur Springs?

| , Sulphur Spring School Berkeley WV 1.24 miles E along small branch near W side of Wilson Ridge Devonian Edriocrinus,Favosites,Orbiculoidea,Leptaena,Dalmanella,Rhipidomella WV0003

Other paleontological attractions

Things like dinosaur statues and prehistory-themed amusement park attractions.