Wright in Campbell County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)

Tertiary (Paleogene) Period

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 30, 2022

1. Tertiary (Paleogene) Period Marker

Inscription.
Soon after the retreat of the great Western Interior Seaway of. the Cretaceous Period, great coal swamps covered Eastern Wyoming. This fossilized tree stump was recovered from the Eagle Butte Coal Mine located about 48 miles to the North of here. It was found in the Tongue River Member of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation and is approximately 60 million years old.

The Age of Reptiles was over and the Age of Mammals had begun. From small ancestors that survived the great Cretaceous extinction, giants would eventually evolve rivaling the dinosaurs in size and weight. This fossilized tree was a witness to this great change in Wyoming prehistory.

Erected by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Paleontology.

Location. 43° 45.736′ N, 105° 28.932′ W. Marker is in Wright, Wyoming, in Campbell County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of State Highway 387 and Ranch Drive, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located near the Wright Visitor Center & Centennial Museum entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15089 Wyoming Highway 387, Wright WY 82732, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 7 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Veterans Memorial

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(a few steps from this marker); The Building of Wright, Wyoming (within shouting distance of this marker); The Beginning of Coal Mining in Wyoming (within shouting distance of this marker); Underground Mining with Children (within shouting distance of this marker); Ranching in Wyoming (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Beginning of Wright, a Company Town (about 300 feet away); Lectra Haul Unit Rig (about 800 feet away).

Also see . . . Paleogene Period.

The Paleogene Period spans the interval from 66 to 23 Mya. During this time, the climate of the Earth went from a greenhouse world in the early Eocene to an icehouse world by the early Oligocene, when glaciers first appeared on Antarctica. On land, the most remarkable event was the explosive diversification of land mammals once their dinosaurian overlords had vanished. In 10 million years, they went from mostly shrew-sized creatures to a wide array of large herbivores and carnivores, along with specialists like bats and whales. They were replaced by primitive members of many modern families of mammals (horses, rhinos, tapirs, pigs, peccaries, ruminants, dogs, etc.)

2. Marker detail: North America
by the Oligocene.

(Submitted on August 5, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: <i>Titanoides primaevus</i>? image. Click for full size.

3. Marker detail: Titanoides primaevus?

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 30, 2022

4. Tertiary (Paleogene) Period Marker

(Wright Visitor Center & Centennial Museum in background)

Fossilized Tree Trunk (<i>adjacent to marker</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 30, 2022

5. Fossilized Tree Trunk (adjacent to marker)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 5, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 83 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 5, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.