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Alberta Fossil Hunting


Wendy from TX

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My husband and I are driving from Texas to Canada.  We are both Science teachers and avid fossil hunters in TX.  Could someone advise us on where we could collect fossils.  I just want a few to bring back for my classroom and to my students.  I educate about 350 students in the 6th grade each year with rocks and fossils found all over the US. Would love to find a few to show them.  I would even be willing to bring some with me to exchange with you. 

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I'm sure that you are going to hunt fossils in the summer.  Snow depth is between 2 to 24 inches this time of the year. 

 

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Can’t wait to see what you find, but you must remember there are strict fossils laws there too!

11 hours ago, Wendy from TX said:

My husband and I are driving from Texas to Canada.  We are both Science teachers and avid fossil hunters in TX.  Could someone advise us on where we could collect fossils.  I just want a few to bring back for my classroom and to my students.  I educate about 350 students in the 6th grade each year with rocks and fossils found all over the US. Would love to find a few to show them.  I would even be willing to bring some with me to exchange with you. 

 

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The areas with most fossil abundance is probably Dinosaur Provincial Park, Drumheller and Pipestone Creek, those are just a few I could name a lot more!! There are so many fossil resources and places here it’s unimaginable!! But a lot of these places fossil collecting is illegal.

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Welcome to the Fossil Forum!

 

Canada is rather a large place, it's difficult to offer advice without knowing where you will be going.  You do mention Alberta in a tag, so I'll assume you're headed that direction.  You should be aware that it is illegal to remove any fossil, vertebrate or invertebrate, from the province without a permit.  Bummer, but that is the law there.  Also as it is mid winter you may have to remove several feet of snowdrifts to get to any fossils.

 

Don

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I live in Calgary Alberta and love hiking and collecting fossils in Horseshoe and Horse Thief Canyons. (Only Alberta residents can collect surface fossils). The area near Drumheller, AB is beautiful in the summer. 

Dinosaur Provincial Park, near Brooks, AB is great for hiking - no Fossil collection here.  While hiking in The Park I found my 1st dinosaur tooth - I almost cried I wanted to keep it so badly  

 

198A3E76-0B94-4A7A-B8EB-C5E75B1ABB8F.thumb.jpeg.90e2009e335a161cc56268344c81a0e7.jpeg

 

 

49A8C95F-65BF-47F5-AF06-DA1BA66D9AB1.jpeg

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@Vacationgirl I certainly feel your pain.  And to know that tooth will be lost to weathering and no scientific knowledge gained from it because (IMHO) of flawed legal restrictions, only adds to the pain.  Glad you were able to capture good detail in the photo.  However, an in-hands inspection and measurement of the various features of the tooth would have added much more scientific value to the find.

 

That said, the law is the law.  The responsible position is to educate the law-makers as to the consequences of their laws, both positive and negative, so that they can make more educated decisions in their passage of future laws.  This takes the combined action of a group (call it "lobby') of interested amateur and professional paleontologists to educate the lawmakers.

 

Until then - the law is still the law!  ( @dinosaur man Young man, here is your challenge that fits your passion and interest.  Start with contacting your representative law-maker.)

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5 hours ago, Vacationgirl said:

While hiking in The Park I found my 1st dinosaur tooth

Now that´s a nice mother-nature-prep with some weathering adding character! But what is really going on here (erosion? wear?)? And do you know family etc.?

@Troodon

Franz Bernhard

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50 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said:

Now that´s a nice mother-nature-prep with some weathering adding character! But what is really going on here (erosion? wear?)? And do you know family etc.?

@Troodon

Franz Bernhard

Wearing facet imho.

Since no serration count and shape is known actually no safe id possible.

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1 hour ago, FranzBernhard said:

Now that´s a nice mother-nature-prep with some weathering adding character! But what is really going on here (erosion? wear?)? And do you know family etc.?

@Troodon

Franz Bernhard

Yes badlands like these are formed by wind and rain.

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48 minutes ago, Pemphix said:

Wearing facet imho.

Since no serration count and shape is known actually no safe id possible.

 

29 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Yes badlands like these are formed by wind and rain.

 

Thank you so much!! Such a nice accentuation of the wear due to weathering, and serration still so nicely preserved! Wonderful!

Franz Bernhard

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1 hour ago, Pemphix said:

Wearing facet imho.

Since no serration count and shape is known actually no safe id possible.

Its indeed is a beautiful wear facet.  Its a Tyrannosaurid tooth either Daspletosaurus or Gorgosaurus 

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8 hours ago, grandpa said:

@Vacationgirl I certainly feel your pain.  And to know that tooth will be lost to weathering and no scientific knowledge gained from it because (IMHO) of flawed legal restrictions, only adds to the pain.  Glad you were able to capture good detail in the photo.  However, an in-hands inspection and measurement of the various features of the tooth would have added much more scientific value to the find.

 

That said, the law is the law.  The responsible position is to educate the law-makers as to the consequences of their laws, both positive and negative, so that they can make more educated decisions in their passage of future laws.  This takes the combined action of a group (call it "lobby') of interested amateur and professional paleontologists to educate the lawmakers.

 

Until then - the law is still the law!  ( @dinosaur man Young man, here is your challenge that fits your passion and interest.  Start with contacting your representative law-maker.)

I want to point out that the law exists because of the actions of many American and European museums.  At one time there were no laws restricting the collection of Alberta dinosaurs, or their removal from the Province.  Museums including the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian, and many others would hire professional collectors, notably the Sternbergs, to provide them with dinosaurs for their exhibit halls. Late in the game Canadian museums, including the Canadian Museum of Natural History and the ROM, also got in the game and employed the Sternbergs.  These professional collectors concentrated on complete articulated skeletons and removed many, to the point where for a time such fossils were essentially stripped from the outcrop.  The Albertan population were not happy that they had to go to Washington DC, to Chicago, to Ottawa or Toronto, or to Europe to see Alberta dinosaurs.  The "heritage laws" that were passed are (IMHO) overly restrictive, but they are a direct response to the pillaging attitude of the day, where no consideration was given to the local jurisdiction and population.

 

Don

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2 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

I want to point out that the law exists because of the actions of many American and European museums.  At one time there were no laws restricting the collection of Alberta dinosaurs, or their removal from the Province.  Museums including the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian, and many others would hire professional collectors, notably the Sternbergs, to provide them with dinosaurs for their exhibit halls. Late in the game Canadian museums, including the Canadian Museum of Natural History and the ROM, also got in the game and employed the Sternbergs.  These professional collectors concentrated on complete articulated skeletons and removed many, to the point where for a time such fossils were essentially stripped from the outcrop.  The Albertan population were not happy that they had to go to Washington DC, to Chicago, to Ottawa or Toronto, or to Europe to see Alberta dinosaurs.  The "heritage laws" that were passed are (IMHO) overly restrictive, but they are a direct response to the pillaging attitude of the day, where no consideration was given to the local jurisdiction and population.

 

Don

I heard that's why they built the Royal Tyrell Museum so the people of Alberta had a dinosaur museum with there provinces fossils in there area.

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2 hours ago, dinosaur man said:

I heard that's why they built the Royal Tyrell Museum so the people of Alberta had a dinosaur museum with there provinces fossils in there area.

I also have heard that.

 

Don

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13 hours ago, Troodon said:

Its indeed is a beautiful wear facet.  Its a Tyrannosaurid tooth either Daspletosaurus or Gorgosaurus

 

 

After finding the tooth I went to the information building to let them know I found.   I showed them the picture and they believe that it was a Gorgosaurus tooth.  Good call Troodon. 

Edited by Vacationgirl
My response was added to Troodon’s reply
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4 hours ago, Vacationgirl said:

I showed them the picture and they believe that it was a Gorgosaurus

Did they recover the tooth? This would be a nice way to preserve such beauties: Report the find to the official people there (as you have done) and give them the coordinates so they can recover it. This would certainly relief some pain from the finder and contribute in the long run also to science/museums/education etc. The finder should receive a small report with all the relevant data, including some good pics.
Franz Bernhard

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As far as I know they didn’t recover the tooth.  I offered to give the information centre the GPS coordinates but they weren’t interested. I was told that “they” probably already knew about it he location of the tooth. 
 

Good idea Franz, since the Tyrell Museum excavates in the park I will provide them with the GPS coordinates and let them decide what they will do with the tooth. 

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Unfortunately teeth or bones like the one you found will probably go uncollected and will shortly disappear.   A good friend of mine occasionally goes with sanctioned Dinosaur Park digs with paleontologists and their only interest is in associated material.  

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10 minutes ago, Troodon said:

their only interest is in associated material.

I can understand this - not much to gain for the profs from a single tooth or bone.

But for the park or museum itself - they could even make money out of that! And a lot of people happy! (I know, I know, I am an unteachable idealist...)

Franz Bernhard

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Just now, FranzBernhard said:

I can understand this - not much to gain for the profs from a single tooth or bone.

But for the park or museum itself - they could even make money out of that! And a lot of people happy! (I know, I know, I am an unteachable idealist...)

Franz Bernhard

The Tyrrell will not sell real dinosaur fossils and although not sure they cannot just give it to them since they dont have rights to that material without proper permits.

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