by Rufus Johnson

• Introduction
• Where to Find Them
• Oldest Fossils in the State
• Fossil Resources
• Download the full article as a

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Introduction

When most people in North Carolina think about fossils, they think of far away places such as the great American West or the Gobi Desert in Asia. However, fossils and petrified wood are abundant in North Carolina. Fossils are the remains or traces of an animal or plant from a former time. Petrified wood refers to wood turned into a stone or mineral form.