Jump to content

Outing at BLM in NM (amended)


Jerry W.

Recommended Posts

This past weekend I was able to enjoy a rare February day of sunshine and temperatures above 50-degrees F (10-degrees C) in a vast expanse of public land owned by the U.S. government and in care of the Bureau of Land Management located in northwestern New Mexico.  The area where I ventured is Upper Cretaceous though I am not sure of any period beyond that general age.

 

Of the fossil related items I ran across, the first two photos show some petrified wood from a ground level stump.  I noted some unfamiliar calcite patterns that were vaguely diamond shaped.  The second photo shows an outline of these patterns and my rock hammer is there as an 11-inch (28-centimeter) scale.  A friend of mine who knows considerably more than I do about fossilized plant life informed me this was once a cypress tree. 

 

The next two photographs shows a large surprise sticking out from under a mound of soil.  Since this was BLM land, the bone remains in situ since collection is verboten.  I have no further information on the bone.

 

As a late addition while I can still edit this post, I can't believe I forgot about the petrified palm wood I found.  I got it cut up and have attached a photo of it here.  One thing that was pretty cool about the palm wood, and hopefully it is visible if you enlarge the photo, is that the vascular bundles (the dots you see all over the wood) due to compression of the wood prior to fossilization aren't really round but have been distorted and shaped like half-moons.  This is commonly seen in other specimens collected in my area of the country and I'm sure elsewhere.

 

PW cypress 1.jpg   PW cypress2.jpg

dirt bone 1.jpg

dirt bone 2.jpg

palmwood 1.jpg

  • I found this Informative 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cool finds! Could you notify someone in a local museum about the exposed bone? Maybe they could go out and collect it before it erodes away to nothing.

 

Also, the diamond shapes are interesting. Did you keep any of it and can you get a closer view of the wood grain near the edge of a diamond?

  • I found this Informative 1

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is pretty cool looking petrified wood.  :)

Thanks for showing us. 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  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

1 hour ago, Shamalama said:

Cool finds! Could you notify someone in a local museum about the exposed bone? Maybe they could go out and collect it before it erodes away to nothing.

 

Also, the diamond shapes are interesting. Did you keep any of it and can you get a closer view of the wood grain near the edge of a diamond?

I did keep a piece of the petrified cypress wood and will take a close-up photo of it and submit here soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Shamalama said:

Cool finds! Could you notify someone in a local museum about the exposed bone? Maybe they could go out and collect it before it erodes away to nothing.

 

Also, the diamond shapes are interesting. Did you keep any of it and can you get a closer view of the wood grain near the edge of a diamond?

Here is a close-up view of the wood.  Sorry, but I can't get any better with my cell phone.

cypress closeup 1.jpg

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could those be knots or perhaps roots that were grown around?

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Shamalama said:

Could those be knots or perhaps roots that were grown around?

Apparently, some modern cypress trees still bear similar holes.  Here is something I copied from a website that explains it:

“Pecky” is an unusual name for an unusual “variety” of Sinker Cypress. A cross-section cut of a Pecky Sinker Cypress log reveals something you don’t normally see in a slice of wood – lots of irregular shaped holes. And these holes are what give it a character that sets it apart from any other wood – including other cypress logs.

What’s interesting is that those Pecky holes are actually caused by a type of fungus that creates hollow tubes running vertically throughout the tree. That’s where the unique appearance comes from when we cut the wood.

This fungus only grows while the tree is alive, but what’s even more interesting is that the fungus typically doesn’t start to germinate inside the Cypress tree until it’s around 125 years old! This explains why finding a Pecky Cypress log is so rare today.

 

I knew nothing about this tree prior to this research, so I guess even an old dog can learn something new too.  Attached is a photo of a pecky cypress log.

cypress, pecky log 1 s50 web.jpg

  • I found this Informative 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, that is fascinating! Good job of researching. :) :yay-smiley-1:

  • I found this Informative 1

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome! We are down in SW New Mexico. Early April we plan to head to Cortez, CO and it's good to know there are 'younger' trees to be found on BLM land. Down here we are Devonian-Permian.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Kato said:

Awesome! We are down in SW New Mexico. Early April we plan to head to Cortez, CO and it's good to know there are 'younger' trees to be found on BLM land. Down here we are Devonian-Permian.

Where you are is where I like to hunt rocks and minerals - from Deming on in to Arizona.  There is a lot of petrified wood in my immediate area and some sea-type fossils too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...