Bone Valley: A Restorationist’s Paradise

Abstract

There is a place in Central Florida where one of the most destructive activities takes place in the Sunshine State. It is a place where phosphate mining occurs. Yes, Florida is indeed a mining state. Phosphate mining has occurred in this state since the 1890s. Most minable phosphate deposits in Florida are in an area known as “Bone Valley”, covering approximately 1.3 million acres of land within Polk, Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee, and DeSoto counties (see Figure 1). The Bone Valley formation is a geologic term for the mixture of sand, clay and phosphate deposits in Central Florida that are loaded with vertebrate fossils, hence the name.