stranger in paradigm

It's Fossil Friday! Behold the dazzling colors of an iridescent ammonite (Placenticeras intercalare). A relative of today’s squids, this ammonite lived some 80 million years ago near what is now Alberta, Canada. This fossil’s spectacular coloration is the result of millions of years of high temperatures and pressures. As these forces acted on nacre in this ammonite’s shell, it was transformed into a gemstone known as an ammolite. Along with amber and pearl, ammolite is one of only a handful of gems made by living organisms. You can spot this rare specimen in the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core in the Museum’s Gilder Center.

6. Baie de Baly (Ha Long Bay of Madagascar), Northwest Madagascar

Baie de Baly. Madagascar's answer to Ha Long Bay — except almost nobody has heard of it. Limestone islands shaped like mushrooms, rising from water the color of a dream.

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Earth Bit Lab — Madagascar Series: The Island The World Left Behind**

Most people know Madagascar for its lemurs. Almost no one knows about the rest.

A stone forest too sharp to walk through. A crater lake where every tree leans inward. White dunes meeting ancient coral reefs in the middle of nowhere.

These are the places Madagascar kept entirely for itself.

4. Masoala National Park, Northeast Madagascar

Masoala. One of the last great rainforests of Madagascar. A place where 90% of what lives here exists nowhere else on earth. Walk carefully.

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Earth Bit Lab — Madagascar Series: The Island The World Left Behind

Most people know Madagascar for its lemurs. Almost no one knows about the rest.

A stone forest too sharp to walk through. A crater lake where every tree leans inward. White dunes meeting ancient coral reefs in the middle of nowhere.

These are the places Madagascar kept entirely for itself.