General Info
Free with Museum Admission
Free for Members
See the Exhibition
Before it was the vibrant city we know, Los Angeles was underwater for over 90 million years. Explore the underwater realm of ancient Los Angeles when much of the L.A. area was submerged beneath the waves of the prehistoric Pacific Ocean.
Dive into our newest multimedia-rich, immersive exhibition L.A. Underwater. Discover L.A.’s prehistoric past through the stories of nearly 40 fossils that are uncovering the secrets of our submerged prehistory. Many of these fossils were found by everyday Angelenos–from construction workers unearthing over 2,000 fish fossils while working on the Metro line to Museum neighbors discovering a whale skull while digging an irrigation ditch in Lincoln Heights. These locally-discovered fossils are helping scientists understand the topography of the city's past and present.
What lies beneath the surface of Los Angeles? A hidden ocean waiting to be explored . . . by you!
ALONG THE WAY, YOU'LL:
- View nearly 40 fossils that were formed during the 90 million years when L.A. was underwater.
- Experience life-sized prehistoric animals like a shark bigger than a city bus.
- Use an interactive map to find fossils discovered near your neighborhood.
- Explore the many habitats of L.A.’s prehistoric ocean.
- See a hologram of an extinct squid-like animal that swam the seas when dinosaurs still roamed California.
- Find out how our prehistoric ocean left a legacy of fossil fuels.
Fossil Finds
Take a sneak peek at some of the rare fossils from across the L.A. region that you will discover in this exhibition.
One of the many fossil creatures visitors will encounter in L.A. Underwater, this extinct ammonoid (Eupachydiscus) swam through Los Angeles 74 million years ago when large dinosaurs still roamed the coast of Southern California.
Collected from the Tuna Canyon Formation in the Santa Monica Mountains, this 143 lbs fossil ammonoid, Eupachydiscus, is from the Late Cretaceous (74 million years ago).
A relative of modern seals, Atopotarus courseni, was named after the Coursen family after they found this amazing fossil in the rocks of their garden wall.
This fossil skull of a newly described giant walrus, Pontolis barroni, has never been seen by the public before and is about 9 million years old.
Dive in Deeper
Explore the terrain of L.A. Underwater with the narrative map series: Ancient L.A. Stories.
Dive into L.A. Underwater and experience an ancient world filled with prehistoric marine life. Open Snapchat and scan each Snapcode with your Snapchat camera to unlock the Anglerfish and Whale Sky AR experiences. Tag us on social media to share: @NHMLA
Sponsored by Nickelodeon and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power with additional support from Robert Segal. In kind support was provided by ESRI.
