Bonnechere Caves!
Ontario's Natural Underground Wonder
A Family Owned and Operated Site
Eganville, Ontario 1-800-469-2283 1-613-628-CAVE(2283)
Front Door - New Sign
Front Door - New Sign
Attractions Canada! Attractions Canada Provincial Gold Medal Winner Top Natural Outdoor Site
 Photo Gallery
 Fossils
 Teachers Info
 Cave Stories
 Bat Lovers
 Eganville and Area
 Testimonials
Home Schedule/Rates Special Events Directions Contact Us

Fossils

There are different types of fossils that can be seen at the caves!

Under a hill of limestone, said by geologists to have been the bottom of a tropical sea 500 million years ago, the Caves present a weird and wonderful sight. Stalactites, or rock icicles formed at the rate of one cubic inch in 150 years, hang from the ceiling and the handiwork of nature is enhanced by electric lights. Entombed in the rock and preserved forever can be seen fossils of coral and sea creatures alive long before the age of the Dinosaurs. Millions of years in the making, the Bonnechere Caves are a thrill for the sightseer.

Bonnechere Cave Fossils

Geological Time Chart
Geological Time Chart
enlarge		The limestone you walk through when you visit the Bonnechere Caves was deposited as layers of mud and silt during the Ordovician time period. The Ordovician is thought to have been somewhere between 400 and 500 milion years ago. That took place before the development or evolution of the fish and well before dinosaurs!!  Click here to view more!
Curled Shelled Cephalopod
Curled Shelled Cephalopod
enlarge		Cephalopods, related to modern squids and cuttlefish, swarmed in the ancient seas. At times they were the dominant invertebrates and some reached four feet in length. In shape they ranged from straight-shelled species to ones elaborately curled and ornamented. Only the wide end of the shell was occupied by the soft-bodied animal that built it. The rest was closed off and divided into a series of... Click here to view more!
Straight Shelled Cephalopod
Straight Shelled Cephalopod
enlarge		Cephalopods, related to modern squids and cuttlefish, swarmed in the ancient seas. At times they were the dominant invertebrates and some reached four feet in length. In shape they ranged from straight-shelled species to ones elaborately curled and ornamented. Only the wide end of the shell was occupied by the soft-bodied animal that built it. The rest was closed off and divided into a series of... Click here to view more!
Brachiopods
Brachiopods
enlarge		 They superficially resemble clams but they are not. Brachiopod fossils date back 700 million years. Lingula, a small horny brachiopod still found burrowing in mudflats today is not much different than those of Ordovician times.  Click here to view more!
Crinoid Rings
Crinoid Rings
enlarge		Crinoids looked like flowers but were really animals related to the starfishes and sea urchins. The crinoid’s soft body was protected by a series of hard limey plates which formed a cup-like structure. To this were attached long jointed arms, radiating outwards and upwards, which gathered food. The animal was anchored to the sea bed by a long flexible jointed stem, made up of small discs... Click here to view more!
Gastropods
Gastropods
enlarge		These snails existed as early as the Cambrian Period, and are fairly common in Ontario. They lived in both freshwater and marine environments. Fossils of freshwater gastropods can be found in interglacial sands and gravels. Click here to view more!
Trace Fossil
Trace Fossil
enlarge		The word "trace" describes the fact that something used to be there. In the case of this fossil burrows in the sea mud made by creatures searching for food and the spaces left would be filled by minerals.  Click here to view more!
Horned Coral
Horned Coral
enlarge		You can find two types of Rugose corals. The solitary variety (cup or horn) are shaped like straight or gently curved cones, within which numerous vertical walls or septa radiate from the centre. Horn Coral up to 12 inches long and 2 inches wide have been found. Colonial Rugose Corals are similar in their internal structure to the solitary variety, but in effect have been squeezed together in a... Click here to view more!
Rugose Colonial
Rugose Colonial
enlarge		You can find two types of Rugose corals. The solitary variety (cup or horn) are shaped like straight or gently curved cones, within which numerous vertical walls or septa radiate from the centre. Horn Coral up to 12 inches long and 2 inches wide have been found. Colonial Rugose Corals are similar in their internal structure to the solitary variety, but in effect have been squeezed together in a... Click here to view more!
Honeycomb Coral
Honeycomb Coral
enlarge		You can find two types of Rugose corals. The solitary variety (cup or horn) are shaped like straight or gently curved cones, within which numerous vertical walls or septa radiate from the centre. Horn Coral up to 12 inches long and 2 inches wide have been found. Colonial Rugose Corals are similar in their internal structure to the solitary variety, but in effect have been squeezed together in a... Click here to view more!
Pelecypod
Pelecypod
enlarge		These clams are bivalved shellfish. Fossils found in sedimentary rocks suggest that during most of their long history they have lived in both salt and fresh water.  Click here to view more!
The Bonnechere Caves © 2010
Dynamic Web Design | Blue North Studios