Magyar News, 2001. szeptember-2002. augusztus (12. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2002-02-01 / 6. szám
8 5./ and 6./ Artist renderings of the scene and animals 20 million years ago. 7./ Actual footprints in the hardened layer that was preserved. 8./ A drawing from the turn of the previous century (1840) that shows how the movement of the earth broke apart one of the hills. 9./ A conglomerate of leaves found in the layers of the soil. 10./ A silicified piece of a tree was exposed by the water. 11./ Shark teeth, once thought to be hardened bird tongues are in abundance is the area. prints of dinosaurs that lived there. A hundred years ago already local children were selling “bird tongues” to people showing interest in the finds. Little did they know that these finds had nothing to do with birds, they were shark teeth. Today it is hard to imagine having ocean water with sharks on what is a hilly area in northern Hungary. Then Antal Koch, a professor in geology did a study in 1903, and in an hour’s time gathered 100 teeth. He established 25 different sharks were living there. Recently a new area was found rich in shark remains. These were around 23-24 million years ago. The constant changes in weather, having the water receding, then coming back, the different movements in the Earth, also the volcanic activity that spread the volcanic ashes over the area. Then through the million years silicic acid penetrated the layers and made them hard and resistant to water and wear. The forest was multi level with gigantic pine trees that measured over 25 feet in diameter. The shrubery consisted of palms, magnolia, laurel, sycamore maple and ferns. A unique petrified pine, that has nothing similar neither in other petrified findings nor in recent times trees, was excavated. 11 species of animals left their footprints, such as the ancient rhinoceros, deers, canavers, and many birds. The water supply is special too. They drilled a well 600 feet deep and found drinking water, carbonated, rich in sodium and hydrogen. For the tourist to find their way through the 20 million years they organized the Geological Study Path. This leads the visitor through the conservation area step by step. Joseph F. Balogh Page 7
