Pohang Geumgwang-dong Layer Cenozoic Fossil Site Designated as Natural Monument

Plant Fossil Species Diverse and Fossil Density High
"Designation to Promote Climate Change Response Investigation and Research"

A Cenozoic plant fossil site representing South Korea will be designated as a national heritage natural monument. It is the Geumgwangdong Formation Cenozoic fossil site located in Geumgwang-ri, Donghae-myeon, Pohang City. The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 7th that it will collect opinions from various sectors for a month and finalize the designation through the Cultural Heritage Committee's review.

The Geumgwangdong Formation Cenozoic fossil site is a natural heritage with a diverse range of plant fossil species and a high density of fossils. It holds significant academic and symbolic value as it reveals the depositional environment, vegetation, and climate changes of the early Cenozoic period on the Korean Peninsula.

The Geumgwangdong Formation was formed about 20 million years ago during the expansion of the East Sea. Sedimentary rocks about 70 meters thick are distributed over a distance of 1 km. Various plant fossils are clustered layer by layer in many places. The Cultural Heritage Administration explained, “During a period of relatively weak volcanic activity, floating sediments such as leaves were continuously supplied and deposited under a humid climate.”

More than sixty species of plant fossils have been identified, including unrecorded ones. Most are Metasequoia, Japanese beech, oak, birch, and maple. In some sections, fossils of Japanese beech, endemic to Ulleungdo, and Pinus pumila, native to Japan, were found together. This suggests that Japan was not completely separated from the Korean Peninsula at that time.

The Cultural Heritage Administration views the Geumgwangdong Formation as a clue to predicting vegetation changes due to global warming. An official stated, “If designated as a natural heritage, we plan to promote investigations and research on climate change responses and support its use as educational material.”