Paleolandscape

In this paleolandscape, artist John Francis shows the diversity of life at Lake Borrego.

The Setting

• ​Slow moving, ponded water
• Marshy
• Abundant birds including waterbirds
• Lush vegetation

The Current Environment

A view of Lake Borrego today.

Photograph by Richard Ingwall, Anza-Borrego Desert Paleontology Society

The Animals

1. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
2. Down's gadwall duck, extinct (Brantadorna downsi)
​3. Flamingo, extinct (Phoenicopterus sp.)
4. Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)
5. Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis)
6. Merriam's tapir, extinct (Tapirus merriami.)
7. Common slider turtle (Trachemys scripta)
8. Frogs (Rana sp.)
9. Garter snake (Thamnophis sp.)
10. Bobcat (Felis rufus.)
11. Lindsay's cotton rat, extinct (Sigmodon lindsayi)
12. Snails (Fontelicella sp.)
13. Reeds and cattails (Typha sp.)

The Fossils

Sandpiper trackways​

Photographs from Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert
Photograph by Paul Remeika