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Duck-billed dinosaurs. Megalodon sharks. Giant mammoths.
Fossils of these ancient creatures and evidence of Native
Americans in Orange County thousands of years ago were just
some of the discoveries unearthed when The Toll Roads were
built in the 1990s. Paleontologists and archaeologists spent
thousands of hours monitoring and collecting fossils spanning
90 million years -- from the nearly complete skeleton of a
baleen whale to jawbone fragments of what is believed to be
California's first dinosaur-era mammal. |
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The
Transportation Corridor Agencies have taken great care to not
only preserve these important links to our prehistoric past, but
to ensure that they are shared with the public. These efforts include:
- Preservation. TCA has been working with the Orange County
Harbors, Beaches, and Parks and Cal State Fullerton to ensure
that the fossils are properly prepared, documented, and stored.
TCA-hired paleontologists catalogued every fossil specimen, a
time-consuming process that will make managing the collection
easier. In addition to transferring the fossils to the county,
TCA has provided funding for curation and exhibition.
- Exhibition. Fossils in the Fast Lane, an exhibit of fossils found during construction
of the Eastern (241) Toll Road, was on display at the Old Orange
County Courthouse in Santa Ana from February 2004 thru February
2005. Portions of the exhibit can be seen at TCAs offices in Irvine and San Clemente. In 1998, the San Joaquin Hills TCA
and the Orange County Harbors Beaches and Parks hosted a six-month
exhibit of fossils discovered on the 73 Toll Road at the Old County
Courthouse in Santa Ana.
- Education. In January 2002, TCA and LSA Associates launched Fossils in Your Backyard, free educational program for
local school children. Taught by a professional paleontologist,
the program has given thousands of children a firsthand glimpse
of what life was like in prehistoric Orange County through the
fossils that were discovered when The Toll Roads were built. For
more information about bringing
this program to your school, e-mail us
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