Fossilized Forest at Nostimo
The Petrified Forest at Nostimo is the result of intense volcanic activity in the region millions of years ago, contributed to the fossilization of plants and marine fossils, creating a world-famous geological monument. The Petrified Forest was discovered accidentally in 1935 by a resident of the village, while trying to extract lignite. The excavations of the forest started in June 1997 and soon many valuable findings shed light on the climate of that period and the flora and fauna of the area.
Since 2010, fossils and artifacts from the nearby petrified forest have been displayed in the village junior school, now turned into a museum. The playground of the junior school has been converted into a park of petrified tree trunks, while a relatively spacious room inside the school has a display of marine and animal fossils. The exhibits include petrified trunks of trees (some 5–10 m long and 40–80 cm in diameter), and marine fossils such as starfish, sea urchins, conches, whelks, scallops, mussels, shark teeth and other seashells. The most significant of the animal fossils are the jagged jaw of a shark that was 20–25 m long, and the 3,500,000-year-old tooth of an Anancus arvenensis, a mastodon that was an ancestor of the elephant.
The fossilised trees created and developed 15 to 20 million years ago, during the Miocene age and are in almost an excellent condition; most of them are palm trees. The Geopark is located at Vlachos, 2 km from Asproklissia.