Chilean Whale Fossil Discovery

What were workers doing in Chile when they made a surprising discovery?

What was found along with the fossil bones of whales?

What is the name of the location where the fossil bones were discovered?

Why did scientists rush to Whale Hill?

What do scientists look for when they find fossils?

What helps scientists understand how the animals died and what the location was like when they were alive?

What technology did scientists use to gather information about the fossil skeletons at Whale Hill?

How many whale skeletons were scanned in just one week at Whale Hill?

What was found lying side by side on the ground at Whale Hill?

What institution was involved in the scanning of the fossil skeletons at Whale Hill?

In 2010, road workers in Chile discovered fossil bones of dozens of whales while building a new lane on a highway in the dry desert soil.
The discovery site, known as Cerro Ballena or "Whale Hill," also contained fossils of seals, fish, and other marine animals that lived in the ocean a long time ago.
The fossils were found in a layer of sediment, suggesting that the area was once a coastal region, millions of years ago.
Scientists believe that the whales may have died after becoming stranded in shallow water and being unable to swim back to sea.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution used 3D scanners to gather information about the fossil skeletons while they were still in the ground.
In just one week, they created 3D images of 40 different whale skeletons, including a group of two adult whales and a baby whale lying side by side.
Before the road was completed, all the fossils were removed from the construction path and taken to museums for preservation.

Researchers believe that hundreds of skeletons still lie beneath the nearby desert, waiting to be discovered and studied.
The finding at Whale Hill is considered one of the largest collections of fossil whales and other extinct marine animals ever discovered.