Papilė Geological Reserve is set up in Papilė town. It is an outcrop of the Jurassic period of Papilė, where the Jurassic period structures with abundant remains of the then fauna open up within 2 kilometres of the Venta. This is a unique outcrop studied by numerous scholars. Around 1863, writer Dionizas Poška collected the first samples of dead Jurassic period animal remains here. Over 300 Jurassic period animal and plant fossils have been found in Papilė outcrop and described. On the banks of the River Venta, we can touch rocks dating back to as many as 160-180 million years, find petrified and fossilized creatures of that time, most often ammonites of cephalopods and fossils of thunderbolts. These animals lived in the Jurassic period waters and disappeared together with dinosaurs.
The height of the outcrop is 20 meters; its length, 130 meters; and its area, 0,36 hectares; the angle of inclination, 40-60 degrees. In 2000, Papilė outcrop was declared a natural monument.
The Jurassic period outcrop is adapted for visiting. The outcrop is protected from rain by a wooden shingle roof, and slopes of the scarp above the outcrop and around it are fortified by a special net. A stone-paved observation platform with wooden benches is equipped for visitors. The outcrop can be reached going along a half-kilometre trail made of sand and crushed stones on the right bank of the river.
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