The Painted Hills, Oregon, USA Oct 11, 2023

Oregon"s John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, specifically the mesmerising Painted Hills, are one of the most well-known spots in the world to see and study fossils. Layers of vividly coloured clay-rich soils make for a captivating landscape. These hills contain a record of changing climates and ecosystems that spans millions of years. Here, visitors can freely explore a museum that displays fossils of plants and animals that thrived long ago. One can get a glimpse of fossils of opossums, oreodonts, sabre-toothed tigers and turtles by visiting the Clarno unit of the monument. These remnants serve as a reminder of the dynamic and fascinating history our planet holds.

© Ben Herndon/Tandem Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Oct 11, 2024Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia, Canada
Oct 11, 2025Wood duck hen

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 1, 2023Turkey tail mushroom
Sep 2, 2025Camel thorn trees, Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia
Oct 16, 2024Jurassic Coast, Dorset, England
Apr 8, 2024European hedgehog
Aug 31, 2025Scotts Bluff National Monument
Apr 18, 2024Medieval city walls, Ávila, Spain
Feb 3, 2026Emerald Bay and Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe, California, United States
Nov 19, 2024Tasmans Arch, Tasman National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Nov 16, 2023Athens and the Acropolis, Greece
Sep 13, 2023Hemakuta Hill, Hampi, India
Aug 11, 2025Village of Santa Maddalena, Dolomites, Italy
Sep 13, 2024Point Reyes National Seashore
Aug 31, 2024Sahara, Algeria
May 9, 2025Common chameleon
Feb 28, 2025Taktsang Palphug Monastery, Bhutan
Aug 22, 2024Ocean City, Maryland, USA
Dec 31, 2025Oberbaum Bridge, Berlin, Germany
Sep 19, 2025Thousand Islands region, St. Lawrence River, USA-Canada border
Aug 11, 2024Wooden path to Kennedy Lake, Vancouver Island, Canada
Dec 25, 2023Reindeer running in snow
Oct 27, 2025Thick-billed raven
Dec 30, 2025Whooper swans
Jan 28, 2024Channel Country, Australia
Feb 25, 2024Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada
Aug 7, 2024St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights, Michigan, USA
Jan 1, 2026Arctic fox
Feb 14, 2026Bleeding hearts
Jan 30, 2025Rolands Breach, Spain
Jun 4, 2025Moritzburg Castle, Saxony, Germany
May 10, 2024Misool, Raja Ampat Islands