LeesKeys Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I went on a very pleasant hike last weekend on the Island Creek Trail in the Croatan National Forest near Pollocksville, NC. In one spot along the creek the embankment is layered with about 15 feet of fossil shells. Trying to get an idea of the age of these deposits. Pleistocene? Miocene? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Trilo Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Finding a geologic map of your area (there are plenty online) will allow you to zoom in and find the exact spot and the age. “If fossils are not "boggling" your mind then you are simply not doing it right” -Ken (digit) "No fossil is garbage, it´s just not completely preserved” -Franz (FranzBernhard) "With hammer in hand, the open horizon of time, and dear friends by my side, what can we not accomplish together?" -Kane (Kane) "We are in a way conquering time, reuniting members of a long lost family" -Quincy (Opabinia Blues) "I loved reading the trip reports, I loved the sharing, I loved the educational aspect, I loved the humor. It felt like home. It still does" -Mike (Pagurus) “The best deal I ever got was getting accepted as a member on The Fossil Forum. Not only got an invaluable pool of knowledge, but gained a loving family as well.” -Doren (caldigger) "it really is nice, to visit the oasis that is TFF" -Tim (fossildude19) "Life's Good! -Adam (Tidgy's Dad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Geologic maps of NC indicate the Island Creek Trail is River Bend Formation, Middle to Late Oligocene. North Carolina Department of Natural Resources has a very handy GIS integrated geologic bedrock map. https://ncdenr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=a8281cbd24b84239b29cd2ca798d4a10 They also have full sized PDFs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I agree, this looks like the River Bend Formation. If you see abundant large oysters in the area it is the Pollocksville Member of the Belgrade Formation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeesKeys Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Tertiary period- looks like it could have been laid down anywhere from 66 to 2 million years ago. Anyway to narrow it down further? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 5 hours ago, Al Dente said: I agree, this looks like the River Bend Formation. If you see abundant large oysters in the area it is the Pollocksville Member of the Belgrade Formation. Concur. Pollocksville Member of the River Bend Fm. It’s the type locality, actually. 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 4 hours ago, LeesKeys said: Anyway to narrow it down further? It was mentioned that this was the Oligocene River Bend Formation. Oligocene is 33.9 to 23 mya. More specifically, the formation is Middle to Late Oligocene so you can probably narrow that even more to roughly 29-23 mya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeesKeys Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Thanks. Deep time is just remarkable to me, especially when I can see and touch it. About 10 years ago my family visited the Grand Canyon and did the mule ride down to the bottom. I recall rubbing my hands over a section of tortured-looking rock that was about a billion years old! Awesome and humbling! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now