Norden Bridge and Vicinity-August 2020

[LabRatKing]

Here is a few shots from the famous Norden Bridge in the northwest corner of Brown County Nebraska. This is one of the sites made famous by Morris Skinner and ultimately led to the discovery of Ashfall Fossil Beds. I was in the area, and was able to make another check mark on my list of famous fossil sites to visit.

 

It should be noted that there is NO fossil hunting here. The river itself is federal land, the main quarry, a few km away is private property, and the bluff sites are part of the Nature Conservancy. However, it is a beautiful area to visit, and well worth it if you feel the urge to walk in the footsteps of famous folks.

 

So, to start, here is the bridge itself:

 

And a nice shot from the north banks, showing the strata of the bluff. Near the top is where many many vertebrate fossils have been discovered over the years, from frogs and snakes, up to rihnos and three toed horses and such.

 

 

Another shot looking downstream on the Niobrarra of a spot known to produce many skulls and mandibles:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2020 by LabRatKing
pictures posted direct to site/ split into two parts

[FossilDAWG]

Thanks for the tour of this classic site.

 

BTW am I correct in thinking these photos are actually hosted on a different site (imgBB)?  If so, can we get you to post the images directly to the Forum please?  Our experience with photos linked to outside sites is virtually always bad.  In time, sometimes just a few months, the links go bad and we are left with a thread that makes no sense and is useless.  The Forum tries very hard to archive information and make it available to interested parties for the long haul.  That is why, for example, we require each new thread to provide searchable tags.

 

Thanks,

Don

[LabRatKing]

4 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Thanks for the tour of this classic site.

 

BTW am I correct in thinking these photos are actually hosted on a different site (imgBB)?  If so, can we get you to post the images directly to the Forum please?  Our experience with photos linked to outside sites is virtually always bad.  In time, sometimes just a few months, the links go bad and we are left with a thread that makes no sense and is useless.  The Forum tries very hard to archive information and make it available to interested parties for the long haul.  That is why, for example, we require each new thread to provide searchable tags.

 

Thanks,

Don

Roger that! I’ll fix that issue shortly! I was on my work puter and discovered the hard way I don’t have editing software worth a dang on it after last patch!

[FossilDAWG]

Thanks!  It's a really interesting topic so we would like it to be around for the long haul.

 

Don

[LabRatKing]

PArt 2 with perma-pics:

And upstream of the bridge, is the Norden Chute, a seriously roiling pit-type waterfall in the bedrock of the river.

 

 

As mentioned in another post, I gained permission from a private land owner to do some digging and sifting on his ranch.

I was asked not to share any of the "good stuff" as this fellow supplements his income with fossils from his properties. However, he did let me keep a few specimens to add to "my" collection for the university.

 

 

(Large, flat fragment of bone- rib-pelvic girdle? will never know...)

 

 

I have no clue what this is, but both the rancher and a paleo friend of mine suggest likely part of one of the Rhinos that inhabited the area.

 

[LabRatKing]

Part 3

This is a fragment of the femur of one of the three toed horse species. I'm no expert with stuff this young, so I'll post better (post field) pictures in a different thread.

 

And I'll close this one up with a drool-worthy shot of the bluff. Do you see what I see? The great flood of 2019 exposed tons of stuff that sadly, I couldn't get to to photograph. However, we are working on some pe rmitting to go and rescue stuff once the river freezes over this winter, making things a bit easier to get to.

 

[gdsfossil]

Hi LabRatKing,

 

I'm an elementary science teacher on a road trip tour of ancient oceans, road tripping from the Red River in Texas/Ok to KS, NB, MO, IA and then east.  Do you know any "easy" ocean invertebrate or shark tooth sites in central/eastern KS or NB I might be able to stop by, likely find a few simple fossils, make a short video, and then continue on my way.  Last stop in OK will be Salt Plains NWR.  Thanks for any times you can provide.

[LabRatKing]

1 hour ago, gdsfossil said:

Hi LabRatKing,

 

I'm an elementary science teacher on a road trip tour of ancient oceans, road tripping from the Red River in Texas/Ok to KS, NB, MO, IA and then east.  Do you know any "easy" ocean invertebrate or shark tooth sites in central/eastern KS or NB I might be able to stop by, likely find a few simple fossils, make a short video, and then continue on my way.  Last stop in OK will be Salt Plains NWR.  Thanks for any times you can provide.

Shoot me a PM. There is a good one here in Nebraska in my neck of the woods that is open to the public. As for KS, I haven't t spent much time there.