Finding fossils in Oregon is not so much a question of where to look for them as where not to look. Fossils are rare in the High Lava Plains and High Cascades, but even there, some of the lakes are famous for their fossils.
Many of the sedimentaryrocks in eastern Oregon contain fossil leaves or bones. In western Oregon, marine sedimentary rocks contain often contain fossil clams and an occasional shark's tooth.
Collecting is OK within the highway right-of-way unless excavation harms the roadcut. Collecting is regulated on state and federal lands and in parks. Collecting is prohibited within the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
