Phosphate Museum, Florida

The largest phosphate production region in the USA is the Bone Valley, of central Florida, and the historic center is the town of Mulberry, thirty miles east of Tampa, where mining companies have supported the creation of a phosphate mining museum. The galleries are inside old railroad cars, and have colorful displays about the industry. A more conventional museum display is located in an adjacent building, which showcases the fossils that have been uncovered in the process of unearthing so much earth. The chemistry of the phosphate deposit, created by ancient seas, preserves fossils well, which explains the region’s name, Bone Valley.