Unique monument of Jurassic period in Volga Region

The Volga layer, a palaeontological monument of the Jurassic period situated near the village of Gorodishche (the Ulyanovsk region) should regain its model status, said Vasily Mitta, a senior official of the Palaeontology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He came to the Volga region as part of a research expedition.

The Volga layer is a part of the huge geological gap stretching along the Volga bank for 10 kilometres and is a remarkable ground for geological and palaeontological research.

The Volga layer is about 150 million years old. It contains remains of several hundreds of unique species of extinct sea animals. Some of them are known nowhere else in the world. Remains of icthyosauruses, plesiosaurs and cephalopoda are often found in Gorodishche. Remains from the Volga layer always go to palaeontological museums. The unique site was discovered in the 18th century and its detailed investigation has been carried out for 150 years already.

In 1966 the Volga layer got a model status. It became a model for palaeontologists all over the world who studied the Jurassic period. Similar layers located in England and France also claimed the model status but Gorodishche has the largest section which is 20 metres high and is most significant for research.