【Designated by the City：Natural Monument (Geology)】Nakahara Fossil

The Nakahara Fossil is a fossilized whale. It is located on the foreshore of Nakahara-Higashi Coast, below the cliff (about 50 m high) facing the pacific ocean. It appears as if it pierced a rock 3 m wide and 2 m high. The fossil part above the rock surface is 60 cm long, 30 cm wide, and 20 cm thick. It is considered to be part of the lower jaw bone of a suborder of the baleen whale.
Widely-known suborders of the baleen whale include the right whale, the Bryde’s whale, and the Minke whale that range in the high seas throughout the world.The fossil here is the only fossil whale found in Gusukube, and the details are yet to be known. Another fossil whale found in Miyako is known to be a fossilized Shimajiri-kujira, which is similar to the Bryde’s whale.

The Nakahara Fossil was discovered by Mr. Katsuya Ueazato in Nakahara settlement.