Ramona Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I am risking the possibility of a huge embarrassment here, but I am wondering about this large rock. I at first assumed that it was a large chunk of concrete but then I started looking more closely. It is located in a creek bed with no other concrete around it. We have a massive amount of fossilifferous (sp?) limestone rocks in our yard, so I began reevaluating this one... I am not able to climb down to look at it closely, so this photo will have to suffice. Is this actually a chunk of concrete or is it a conglomerate rock with fossils in it? If it is concrete I will put my tail between my legs and slink off into the far distance. We live in Huntsville, AL. Thanks! Ramona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Well, one thing is for sure that I don't see any fossils in there. I'm inclined to say a concretionary mass with rocks imbedded in it, but it's hard to say whether it's a sedimentary breccia or not. (Conglomerate has more rounded contituents, breccia more angular ones.) 3 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandpa Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 3 minutes ago, Ludwigia said: I don't see any fossils in there. OK, so first, I agree with Roger that I too see no fossils. 2nd, there is no reason to feel embarrassed. How do any of us learn without asking and making mistakes in our initial impressions along the way? There is certainly no shame in that. 12 minutes ago, Ramona said: I will put my tail between my legs and slink off into the far distance. We live in Huntsville, AL. Third, where would the "far distance" from Huntsville be and would it even have ANY fossils? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Looks like aggregate cement to me. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 OK, so it looks like my original assumption WAS correct, then! I have no idea how a large piece of concrete might have gotten into the woods behind our house, but there is much that I don't know. ;-) Thanks!! Ramona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Wait a minute!!! We seem to be ignoring the elephant in the room. Ramona has a tail!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 6 minutes ago, caldigger said: Wait a minute!!! We seem to be ignoring the elephant in the room. Ramona has a tail!!! Ohhhh, you got me there!!! LOL How funny!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I agree with Tim. I've come across patches of old cement in odd places and who knows why it was put there - and you're not the first person on the Forum to be fooled by this sort of thing, so don't feel bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 We all are fooled by man made objects at times. Just read my post from last week: Crinoid Cups Excite Me, BUT........ No need to tuck a tail, but enjoy such experiences for the "humor" that they present!!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norki Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 I mean, I've also seen natural conglomerates that look almost identical to concrete pavement, so it isn't necessarily man made. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 4 hours ago, Wrangellian said: I agree with Tim. I've come across patches of old cement in odd places and who knows why it was put there - and you're not the first person on the Forum to be fooled by this sort of thing, so don't feel bad! Lots of construction "leftovers" got/ get thrown into river basins. Out of sight, out of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 @Ramona, its a difficult decision based on this one pic alone. As already mentioned, it could be (poorly made) concrete, or it could be a natural breccia of some sort. It would be necessary to examine a fresh break in detail. Considering fossils, I can not see any in your pic. However, (some of) the clasts could be fossiliferous. More detailed examination necessary also here. Here is an example of a natural breccia with a fossiliferous clast: Franz Bernhard 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 12 hours ago, FranzBernhard said: @Ramona, its a difficult decision based on this one pic alone. As already mentioned, it could be (poorly made) concrete, or it could be a natural breccia of some sort. It would be necessary to examine a fresh break in detail. Considering fossils, I can not see any in your pic. However, (some of) the clasts could be fossiliferous. More detailed examination necessary also here. Here is an example of a natural breccia with a fossiliferous clast: Franz Bernhard Ohhhhh, NICE one!!! I will try to get down in the creek bed to get better photographs of the rock/concrete. I am intrigued! Thanks for sharing this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 14 hours ago, caldigger said: Lots of construction "leftovers" got/ get thrown into river basins. Out of sight, out of mind. True dat! Could definitely be that! I will try to get closer to this one to make a better determination. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 18 hours ago, Norki said: I mean, I've also seen natural conglomerates that look almost identical to concrete pavement, so it isn't necessarily man made. I will find out! I will get closer to it when I get a chance and to a better examination with more clear photos. I am pretty clumsy and this rock is down in an area without easy access to it. I am trying to be mature and wait until another family member will go with me. ;-) Hard to wait, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 18 hours ago, minnbuckeye said: We all are fooled by man made objects at times. Just read my post from last week: Crinoid Cups Excite Me, BUT........ No need to tuck a tail, but enjoy such experiences for the "humor" that they present!!! Mike Ha! Thanks for sharing that one! I would have been fooled, too!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 19 hours ago, Wrangellian said: I agree with Tim. I've come across patches of old cement in odd places and who knows why it was put there - and you're not the first person on the Forum to be fooled by this sort of thing, so don't feel bad! Thanks for taking the time to check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 20 hours ago, caldigger said: Lots of construction "leftovers" got/ get thrown into river basins. Out of sight, out of mind. No doubt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramona Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 Here we go! A close up photograph of my concrete rock! Actually, this is a different rock, but the same type as the first one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Yeah, I would have guessed a chunk of concrete as well. It looks like they used a coarse rock and unwashed sand. Remember that the cement in concrete is just baked limestone so it will end up looking pretty much like limestone after it's formed. In fact there are limestones that can be just ground up and used without baking. There are a few Paleozoic layers in the Hudson Valley that were/are still referred to as "water limes". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 On 12/14/2019 at 6:37 PM, Wrangellian said: I agree with Tim. I've come across patches of old cement in odd places and who knows why it was put there - and you're not the first person on the Forum to be fooled by this sort of thing, so don't feel bad! On 12/14/2019 at 5:51 PM, Ramona said: OK, so it looks like my original assumption WAS correct, then! I have no idea how a large piece of concrete might have gotten into the woods behind our house, but there is much that I don't know. ;-) Thanks!! Ramona Often, when foundations are poured, the concrete suppliers will clean their trucks on the job site - usually a discrete distance from the actual construction. Also, I once come across home owners dumping excess concrete in their back yards/stream edges. Just two of the ways I know concrete gets into odd places. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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