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Grades 4-6

Found: A Rain Forest in Illinois

Last week, scientists writing in the journal Geology announced that the world's largest fossilized rain forest was found in a coal mine near Georgetown, Illinois.

The 300-million-year-old forest covers 15 square miles. "We never encountered one whole forest preserved in one shot like this," says Scott Elrick of the Illinois State Geological Survey. Geologist John Nelson discovered the fossils when he visited the mine in 2004. Researchers have found trees, mosses, shrubs and ferns as tall as 12 feet. Experts believe that the forest was buried when a major earthquake hit the area. "It's a snapshot in time," says Ian Glasspaul, who is with the Field Museum, in Chicago, Illinois.

Next: Looks a Lot Like Earth