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Little Jerusalem chalk formation site soon to be open to the public

Kansas Geological Survey

Fossil hunters from across the High Plains region will likely rejoice at the chance to explore a site called Little Jerusalem in Logan County, Kansas, which consists of chalk spires and ravines, the remnants of a large interior sea that split North America in half about 85 million years ago.

As The Garden City Telegram reports, the Western Interior Seaway left behind giant clams and other fossils like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. Huge turtles, sharks, flying reptiles and toothed-birds also inhabited the area then.

The property was purchased by the Nature Conservancy in October and it is managed by Smoky Valley Ranch project coordinator Matt Bain, who said it is the largest Niobrara Chalk formation in the state.

The Nature Conservancy is planning to open the site to the public but Bain told The Telegram that permanent public access is still in the planning stages so the exact date was not yet available.