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Showing results for tags 'Galena Formation'.
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It was a beautiful, warm (almost 50 degrees!), sunny Halloween day in Minnesota when Kris and I went fossil hunting together. I took her to the BEST gastropod site in Minnesota! She loves the snails too. :-D Age is Ordovician and we were in the Stewartville member of the Galena Formation for both sites collected. Kris at site one pointing to gastropods stuck in the rock. Hormatomas stuck in the rock. We didn't go a 1,000 yards and her pail and my backpack were full of great finds. And I got these pics of those we could not take. Maclurites reverse cast. Imprint of a cephalopod. I took her to one of my favorite spots to just hunt in peace and quiet. So many fossils trapped in the bedrock! This site never ceases to put me in awe of how the earth has changed through the millennia. A shame I didn't take more pictures, but I had not planned on posting the hunt. But @minnbuckeye inspired me to do so with his "Last Hunt of the Year". :-) My haul, and Kris had a more impressive collection that I didn't get a pic of. I had just gotten a stunning calcite lamp from Niagara Cave - my favorite place to buy non-local fossils and rocks! :-D - and put my finds around it on the kitchen table. They are still there and the lamp is a gorgeous night/accent light in my kitchen. I hope you enjoyed this "postcard" from southeastern Minnesota, the northern tip of the Great Driftless Area on the North American continent. :-D
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Several gastropods from Galena Formation near Decorah Iowa
tombk posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
I was recently near Decorah, which is in northern Iowa and near the border with Minnesota. The predominant bedrock there is the Galena Formation. It is chiefly limestone with some interbedded shale. I was there only one full day and had other things to do (other than look for fossils, that is, if you can believe it). I did visit one road-cut along highway 52. I am not geologically informed enough to know what member of the formation was exposed at the road cut, so the closest I can get to dating it is to say that it’s upper Ordovician. The road cut was not a place I’ll visit again. Few fossils. But I did come across a few gastropods that I want to show here. And I have one question in the middle about clockwise vs counterclockwise growth in gastropods. I think 3 are Liospira species: Another looks similar but spirals from the umbilicus outward in a clockwise direction out from the rock (that is, toward the viewer looking at the rock) rather than into the rock as the others do. Any thoughts on this reversal of direction? Can it occur in the same genera or species? A possible Sublulites species: And an internal cast of a Hormotoma species (the first cast of such I’ve found where the whorls don’t touch each other). thanks for reading my mini-adventure, Tom
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How much better does it get when you can have FUN and help others experience the JOY of FOSSIL HUNTING, especially the children! These hunts were both booked through Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center. And I have a BIG THANK YOU to @minnbuckeye because MIKE made both of these hunts very special. A while back Mike stopped and was so generous and gave me three geodes he had found - he knows I love anything that sparkles. :-) After he left, I thought how selfish of me to keep them for myself and decided that the youngest on the hunt would be able to break one. WOW! Seeing the smiles on those faces... What can I say! And I think that @minnbuckeye would agree that his gift of the geodes was best shared. :-) The very first boy, 11 years old, was the first to break a geode on the 7.10.21 hunt. He got half and three teenaged girls who were at the hunt split the other half between them very carefully breaking it as opposed to the original smashing! This was a FUN hunt! This gal just loved all of the fossils she found! I had forgotten my camera and these photos are from the guests who sent their best back to me. :-) Nice party rock that Sarah collected - lots of fossils! Sarah in the back of the "Cave Man" cave. Up close on the rocks in the Galena Formation of SE Minnesota. We were all having so much fun that by the end of the hunt I took them to a bonus spot and 2/3 of the group came back to my home to spend more time going through the fossil sandbox - kids love that thing and I've caught a few adults in my sandbox, feeding the baby goats and talking fossils. :-D Sarah's shot from the back of the cave to the front. I'm going to continue to the 8.14.21 hunt in a reply, because I think I may run out of MB for photos as a very special trilo was found!
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Ordovician SE MN - Masonic Park by the spring Galena Formation, likely Stewartville member but mixes with others Great find on an Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center hunt today! We had LOTS of great finds there today right after a hard rain. Story coming... :-) Okay trilo people, I think I have narrowed the species down to these three... Thoughts?
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Hi all, I'm on vacation about 8 miles east of Galena Illinois. I was going to wait until I got home to post a travel piece. I'm too excited to wait, though. I had reached out to a few rock/fossil clubs asking whether there are any known collecting sites around here, and nobody knew of any. There's a road-cut near where I'm staying, and I found what I think is a maclurites fossil! It's not in the best condition, but not bad for about 450-million years old! From what I can tell, the exposed rock around here is in the Galena Group (Trenton Limestone). One app says the stratigraphic unit is the Millbrig k-Bentonite bed. Well, here are some pics, and I hope to post more when I get home and get settled. (The fossil was exposed, and I've done no prepping beyond some light brushing off of dirt.) The domed side: The flat side "Face-on" view I researched this fossil on TFF and saw that it is a favorite of @Bev
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Ordovician Stewartville member of the Galena Formation Southeast Minnesota, USA Yes, I know, there are no plants in the Ordovician! But doesn't this LOOK like a plant??? I was out hunting yesterday in the drizzle and found this rock. It had a pretty pattern, I didn't think much of it as it was probably just how the rock split and maybe minerals or dendrite or some such, but I liked the pattern so I brought it home. Upon closer examination it took to looking like a fan shaped plant, the side view seems to show a stem. All probably my imagination! LOL :-D But it does not hurt to ask if anyone has seen something like this before in the Ordo, right? Part of my love of fossil hunting is learning new things! :-D Overview Close up dry Close up dampened slightly for clarity "Stem" portion You guys always want to see the back of the rock... :-) Side of rock So, how crazy am I? LOL :-D
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First Group Fossil Hunt of the Season - Thaleops Trilobite!
Bev posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
April 10, 2021 1-4 pm Spring Valley, Minnesota Eagle Bluff Environmental Education Center organized hunt Led by Bev Sandlin, Bluffcountryfossils.net Whispering Winds, Spring Valley, MN Galena Formation Ordovician fossils What FUN!!! And what Great Finds! This hunt was organized by Eagle Bluff Environmental Education Center in Lanesboro, MN. I am doing hunts for them every 2nd Saturday of the month through this season and any private hunts they book as well. We had about 20 participants and it was a whirlwind hunt they all were enjoying as I left them still hunting the 3rd site at 4 pm! We started at my place, Whispering Winds, Spring Valley, MN with the fossil gardens to acclimate their eyes to what fossils they are looking for and a bit about the Ordovician time period. This is the river bank hunt portion of site 1. The cliff face is great for showing the difference between the Stewartville and Prosser members of the Galena Formation. I wish I had pics of all the fossils we found on this hunt! But I have a few and this cephalopod is one found along the creek bank. We hunted by the spring, the abandoned quarry and then the "Cave Man" cave. Taking pictures in the cave. Y And what finds! You will have to forgive my photos as these were all taken in the field on a very cool, 40 degree F, spring day. One of the BEST 3D graptolites I have ever seen! Without a microscope, I can't tell if this is a "print" of crinoids or bryzoans, but it is spectacular! And fragile, and of course these all went home with the collectors. :-D Any of you know what this is??? And DRUM ROLL, I am so envious of this find, a THALEOPS TRILOBITE that appears whole! And this guy is large! Perhaps 2 inches or better across! Dad, an experienced hunter from over south of La Crosse, Caleb's old territory, found this and the trilo is pictured with his son. What a PRIZE!!! We moved on to site 2 with lots collected there including this nice gastropod. Gotta love the enthusiasm of the kids! :-D And onto site 3 where I left them all happily breaking rock! I did invite anyone back over to my home if they needed IDs. I went home exhausted, as I just had surgery the week before and my last covid vaccination which put me down for two days that week, but so happy to see so many smiles under the masks! Thank you TFF for making this possible! Without all of the oh so patient TFF members teaching me about fossils, I would not be able to share the joy of fossil hunting with others! KUDOs TFF!!! Oh, FYI, I know my fossil blog is down, but can't seem to figure out how to get it back up on hostgator. The gal who did it has since died and I'm not techy, but working on it. Anyone with suggestions, please PM me. :-D
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Ordovician Galena Formation, probably Prosser member SE Minnesota I'm definitely slipping mentally, but I can't seem to figure out what this is! Help?
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From the album: Trilobites of Minnesota Decorah/Platteville/Galena Formation
Isotelus gigas thorax and pygidium from Galena Formation (thanks Kane for the positive id). -
Ordovician Stewartville member of the Galena Formation Southeast Minnesota Pygidium I'm thinking... Sorry, best pics I could get. Ceph or enrolled? Looks like trilo eyes staring at me, but what do you think? This is wet to see it better. The dry pics just didn't turn out at all. The "eyes" seem white to me and are raised. Thoughts??? Thanks for looking! :-D
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SE Minnesota, USA Ordovician Galena Formation I'm sorry I do not have a better pic but it went home with the guy who found it. I just hosted a Father's Day hunt and this was found. I would say graptolites but NO SAWTOOTH EDGES! It did not, in the field, to me appear to be crinoid. I have honestly not seen anything like it before. Maybe it is just how it fossilized, but this was a wow to me! He was pretty thrilled! I would be too! :-D Thoughts anyone?
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As with the adult this has more costae than any other brachiopod found in this formation. In this case 32. and 5 of them on the fold. The fold and sulcus are not yet very noticeable, as this species only develops a noticeable fold as it matures.
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Brachiopods, perhaps rhynchonellids most of all, are notoriously hard to identify without their internal features exposed. However, if you know the formation and rough location and have faunal lists it can be possible. Rhynchonella ainsliei, for example, has 26-34 costae with 5-7 of these appearing on the fold. This specimen has 30 and 5 respectively and is the only species that has so many found in this formation. It also has the correct shape and size to support the match.
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Ordovician Galena Formation SE MN A couple of weeks ago I met with Dave and took him out on a fossil hunt and sold him some maps of various fossil sites. We did well that day, but yesterday he showed up at my door with some fossils he found and some of these are terrific! He definitely has an eye for trilos! :-D And these cephs are huge! I snapped some quick shots as he is having trouble posting. #1 #2 #3 #4 Some great cephs and gastropods! A slice of a big horn coral OR??? Thanks for looking and any IDs you may have on these! :-D Any thoughts on IDs would be appreciated!
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@Raggedy Man and his "phantom" wife, Laura, came up to fossil hunt for her 31st Birthday and what a hunt it was! I was busy the first day they were here with my little Airbnb Whispering Winds checking people in and out but they had a wonderful day hunting and Paul found a Bumastis trilobite - they are trilobite hunters. He will have to post his pictures. :-) On Saturday I had invited new fossil friend, Todd, from the Twin Cities to hunt with us. He had come on a paid hunt earlier (he left with 2 5 gallon pails of fossils that very long fossil hunting day) and we had bonded and this was a good opportunity for him to get some real fossil hunting done. I had heard about the "mythical" Seven Springs down a favorite sometimes dry wash and was on a mission. So off we went to hunt Orodovician fossils and Seven Springs! It was a lovely fall day in Minnesota in the 60s with leaves slowly turning brilliant colors and falling to cover the floor of the wash. The first part of the wash was not particularly fossiliferous but we had perhaps a mile or two to go to Seven Springs, so I was warning Todd not to pick up too many fossils. And yes that big plate was beautiful, but too heavy to carry out - that is what hammers are for... :-) The day was beautiful and each corner drew us around another. Paul and Laura had gone up the wash. And there were plates that just weren't going to come back with us. But the siren's call of more fossils to be found just kept us going... But this worn Fisherite showing the side structure was one I just had to have! We rounded one bend to see wild morning glories blooming against the gleaming white rocks of the Galena Formation. We were back in pretty far and hit a very fossilierous wall. I was on a mission and just had to keep going to find Seven Springs - was it real or not? Todd was happy to be left there. :-) The next corner of the wash called to me, and the next, and the next... I ran across the tracks of a large white tail and knew I must be near water. Finally! The first of Seven Springs! My mission had paid off! Seven Springs! So serene and beautiful! I had dropped my backpack back by Todd and so fossil hunting my way back was only what I could stuff into my fly fishing vest. When I finally got back, Paul and Laura had hiked down the wash to see what the old folks were up too. :-) Continued...
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Ordovician Galena Formation SE Minnesota I believe this to be a coral. ID please! Thank you for looking! :-) bottom
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Ordovician Galena Formation: Stewartville or Prosser member Fillmore County, MN For Scale Rock Rock for scale Trilos for comparison: Raggedy Man and Laura are over here hunting this weekend and I was showing them this interesting rock I found with lots of crinoid stems and parts that I picked up a couple of days ago. Any idea on what species of trilo this is? Thanks for looking!
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My 11 year old son found this fossil while on vacation this weekend. It was our first trip fossil hunting! Our new friend Beverly Sandlin suggested we post to the forum for identification. Any information would be very much appreciated! He's very excited to learn more!
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Ordovician Stewartville member of the Galena Formation Southeast Minnesota And the gal who found it! Would love some IDs on these. I could take a stab at it from this page of Robert Sloan's book, but would like other eyes on these. I believe both are complete, what do you think? Thanks for looking! :-D
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Ordovician Galena Formation probably Prosser member SE Minnesota For scale note penny at upper left. Below Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 I guess will be in the reply. :-)
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Ordovician Galena Formation, probably Prosser member SE Minnesota Do not know what this is! Fascinating! To me it looks like a tentacled head with bumps facing the bottom of the picture, then a long skinny spine and then a bulbous tail. The rock I've never seen anything like this before in the field or in the books for the Ordovician. Of course, I could be visualizing it wrong. Anyone know what this critter is???
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We are having a highly unusual, but welcome, respite from winter here in Minnesota. Temps have been in the 40s and 50s for several days and the snow is slowly departing. Rain is even forecast for tomorrow, but snow is predicted to return next weekend, so a fossil hunt sounded like a wonderful pursuit for a Sunday afternoon. The breezes were light, even balmy for February, green grass blades are starting to poke through and a flight of geese could be seen in the blue skies heading north - a sure sign of an early spring. I headed to one of my favorite hunting spots to see if it was melted off. My very first find was this gorgeous Halysites Coral! These are rare in these parts and this one is the biggest I have ever seen, but it is caught in the rock. :-( The location of this coral is very unusual as I have never found one at this level. Since I couldn't get this one out with the two hammers I had, I proceeded to wander the upper shelf of the Stewartville member of the Galena formation in this area collecting Maclurites, a lovely Fusispera sp., a broken trilo cephlon, and a warn cephalopod among other treasures. Continued...
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After spending a day roofing my garage I decided I needed a break and spent Sunday, July 29th collecting the Galena Formation of Southeast Minnesota. I woke up Sunday morning unreasonably sore and decided that breaking rock was not what I wanted to do. I picked up my father and we headed off to do some relaxing surface collecting at some road-cuts. The find of the day was a decent Dolichoharpes cephalon. I have only collected a small handfull of these from the Galena Formation in the 17 years I've been seriously collecting, so they are quite hard to come by. Since the Prosser member of the Galena Formations is very similar in age and fauna as the Kimmswick Formation of Missouri and Illinois, it could be Dolichoharpes uniserialis. Although the Galena specimens have also been referred to as D. ottawaensis so I'm not 100% on what to call this bug other than Dolichoharpes sp. Some of the other things I picked up were one very possibly complete Anataphrus borreaus trilobite, a Westonoceras minnesotense nautaloid cephalopod(photo coming soon), and a large(for this area) horn coral for prep practice. The Anataphrus is enrolled which is common for this type and is displaying all 8 of it's thoracic segments. However these bugs are notorious for being headless molts. A little prep should prove quickly if it is a complete specimen.
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On Sunday, November 18th, I had two options; go to the wedding shower with my fiance, or go fossil collecting. While going to an estrogen fueled soiree may sound like a hoot, I decided the latter. My Father and I planned an impromptu trip down to Southeast Minnesota for some collecting in the Galena Formation. We decided to check out a quarry that I had not collected yet this year. I should mention that quarries are closed to collecting without permission, and some quarry operators are not forgiving if one doesn't get permission. They had blasted this summer and we were hoping to collect it before all the rock was turned into gravel. Unfortunately when we got there the first thing I noticed was a giant pile of crushed rock. While almost all of the fresh rock was ground into gravel, there was enough left to keep us busy for a few hours. While I didn't get any photos of the quarry you may find some posted by Bev here. There is a pile in the last photo of her first set that was relatively new, so I spent my time on that. Of the 7 things I brought home 3 of them were collection firsts for me, which is getting hard to do. The firsts included a possibly complete Ceraurinus marginatus(but I'm not holding my breath), complete Calyptaulax callicephalus, and a cephalon of an extremely rare Celtencrinurus spicatus(formerly Encrinuroides spicatus, Tripp 1974). While I have found parts of Ceruarinus and Calyptaulax, these are the most complete specimens I have collected out of the Galena. The Encrinurid cephalon had me stumped as I had never seen one like it before. It's described in "New Encrinurid Trilobites From The Galena Formation Of Wisconsin And Iowa" R.P. Tripp, 1974. I have yet to photograph the other items I picked up, but they include: Hormatoma major(gastropod), Pleurocystites sp, and 2 cephalopods I'm trying to ID. I'll post some pictures of those tonight. Ceraurinus marginatus(please be complete!) Calyptaulax callicephalus - This specimen is ventral(upside-down) Celtencrinurus spicatus
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A couple years ago, my father picked up an Edrioaster sp. in the Galena Formation of Southeast Minnesota. What makes this specimen interesting is that it was preserved fully inflated and showing the holdfast and the outline of the structure it was attached to. We got the specimen back at MAPS this past year after having it prepped and I finally took some photos of it. I just hope I got the genus ID correct. Edrioaster sp. Galena Formation, Prosser Member Ordovician, Trentonian Southeast Minnesota Anotated Feel free to post photos of your Edrioasteroids!
