Here is an outcropping of the Middle Eocene Ione Formation, Ione Basin, in the neighborhood of the Discovery Site--so-named because that's where I first found fossil plants in the Ione Basin on July 21, 1991. The red backpack at lower right signifies the position, at the base of the exposure, of a prolific fossil leaf locality in the Ione Formation--a specific paleobotanical site that has not yet been scientifically quarried, primarily because of its relative inaccessibility and its occurrence on environmentally sensitive terrain. Image taken on March 11, 2004.

Please note: All fossil localities in the Ione Formation of Amador County, California, presently occur on private property; explicit permission from the land owners must be secured before collecting fossils there.