UC Berkeley researchers are using an exceptional stash of 1,500 fossils found during the construction of a new San Francisco East Bay dam to piece together a picture of what the Bay Area may have looked like some 15-20 million years ago. Water covered much of the region, ancient whales sifted food over what is now Berkeley and Oakland, while now-extinct megalodon sharks might have hunted dolphins over San Jose. Hippo-like creatures waded along the coast, which was dotted with palm and pine trees. Seals, larger than today, frolicked in the water. (#34000)