It may look like dirt and rocks, but the spoils from the Fourth Bore Project have a tale to tell. As part of the excavation process of the Fourth Bore, Caltrans is conducting paleontological analysis in search of fossils that offer clues to the geological history of the project area.P

Paleontologists have found large fossils from now extinct mammals in spoils from the eastern end of the bore while fossils found in the middle and western end for the bore provide evidence that it was once an aquatic environment. All of these findings shed light on the region's past and the creatures that dwelled in it – from microscopic organisms to extinct plants and animals. All of the discoveries are being documented in accordance with state, federal and local laws and regulations.

Click here for an article from KQED that details some of the fossils that have been recently unearthed.

Updated: June 08, 2011