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Weird round thing found, Cochrane, Alberta


Nreekay

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Hey Folks,

My 5 year old son found this close to home. It’s about the size of a small fingernail, and appears to be only a half shape, if that makes any sense? The object does not appear to continue beneath the matrix. Any idea what it might be?

Thanks,

E&B

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1 hour ago, Dimitar said:

I guess it may be  volcanic lava, falling as rain drop. See "volcanic bomb" .

What makes you say that?  I don’t know anything about the geology of Cochrane, Alberta but unless volcanic deposits are a common feature, this could be any number of things including fossils such as an ostracod, trilobite fragment, etc, etc.  Do we know the age of the rocks?  I think we need some more information. 

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I was thinking maybe a section from a belemnite phragmocone, but as ClearLake mentioned above, we need to know its stratigraphical position.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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7 hours ago, Lone Hunter said:

Just wondering if those are black and white photos?

No. Colour. :)

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3 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

I was thinking maybe a section from a belemnite phragmocone, but as ClearLake mentioned above, we need to know its stratigraphical position.

Very interesting. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you it’s stratigraphic position... my son found it in an overflow storm pond. The construction workers who made it brought in all sorts of rock. There, he also found a huge chunk of fossilized shells and some petrified wood.

7 hours ago, ClearLake said:

What makes you say that?  I don’t know anything about the geology of Cochrane, Alberta but unless volcanic deposits are a common feature, this could be any number of things including fossils such as an ostracod, trilobite fragment, etc, etc.  Do we know the age of the rocks?  I think we need some more information. 

Good point. There is volcanic deposits hundreds of km south and North, but not in this area. I have no idea the age of the rock, but around here we have been finding petrified wood and fossilized shells. Maybe 60-100 million years?

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Ok, so a bit of reading tells me that Cochrane is located just outside of Calgary along the Bow River (beautiful area by the way from the one time I was lucky enough to spend a week or so in the general area). The bedrock geology is Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene deposits that vary from marine to alluvial and the whole area is covered by Pleistocene to Recent gravels and such deposited during the ice age and the subsequent Bow River. What does all this tell us - unfortunately, your rock could be darn near any age or type!!  :default_faint:

 

My guess is your rock comes from the gravels that are common to the area, but that is just a guess based on where you said you found it, and unfortunately that means it could be any of the rock types and ages contained in the nearby mountains.  My first guess was an ostracod because of the general shape and I think I see a rim around parts of the edge, but it would be very large for an ostracod.   I was doubtful of the volcanic rain drop because it does not have the glassy texture I would anticipate (but that is not a sure thing either).  The rock also has lots of other dark inclusions which I can’t really tell from the picture whether they are fossil or mineral, but I suspect more likely to be fossil. It also could be a fragment of tons of different things, some of which others have mentioned although I think I see a grainy or bumpy texture on the surface of it, is that true or am I misinterpreting the pictures?

 

I think the short answer is it is going to be very difficult to be too certain what this is unless someone familiar with the local geology recognizes the specific rock or features. Sorry. 

Edited by ClearLake
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5 hours ago, Rockwood said:

It could be just a common concretion. It is hard to tell just what the look is here.

I hope not. 

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3 hours ago, ClearLake said:

Ok, so a bit of reading tells me that Cochrane is located just outside of Calgary along the Bow River (beautiful area by the way from the one time I was lucky enough to spend a week or so in the general area). The bedrock geology is Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene deposits that vary from marine to alluvial and the whole area is covered by Pleistocene to Recent gravels and such deposited during the ice age and the subsequent Bow River. What does all this tell us - unfortunately, your rock could be darn near any age or type!!  :default_faint:

 

My guess is your rock comes from the gravels that are common to the area, but that is just a guess based on where you said you found it, and unfortunately that means it could be any of the rock types and ages contained in the nearby mountains.  My first guess was an ostracod because of the general shape and I think I see a rim around parts of the edge, but it would be very large for an ostracod.   I was doubtful of the volcanic rain drop because it does not have the glassy texture I would anticipate (but that is not a sure thing either).  The rock also has lots of other dark inclusions which I can’t really tell from the picture whether they are fossil or mineral, but I suspect more likely to be fossil. It also could be a fragment of tons of different things, some of which others have mentioned although I think I see a grainy or bumpy texture on the surface of it, is that true or am I misinterpreting the pictures?

 

I think the short answer is it is going to be very difficult to be too certain what this is unless someone familiar with the local geology recognizes the specific rock or features. Sorry

WOW! Thank you for taking the time and energy to research and write. May I ask where you found the information on the geology surrounding Cochrane (Yes, it is a lovely area. Happy to be living here)? I will try to take a better look at the object when I get home tonight and report my findings. It's about 1/4 the size of a penny. I, we, are finding that there is a fair bit of inclusions in the rock that has been dug up, some mineral and definitely some plant.  The matrix that this object was in was much larger than what is pictured; I just whittled it down. Now looking at the pictures much more closely, I think I can make out a rim... but will take a closer look tonight :)

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I tried to take better pictures, but the iPhone can’t get any closer. The object is rough. Now... is their/was their a rim?

 

Thanks all for taking the time to reply. I totally appreciate it!!

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Size for reference. Sorry, it was the only thing around that is kinda standard in size.

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I'm afraid these may be reworked clasts of a darker rock. I don't see any clear indication that it is a fossil.

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49 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

I'm afraid these may be reworked clasts of a darker rock. I don't see any clear indication that it is a fossil.

I just did a little reading on your note. I see what you mean. Ahhh. It breaks the heart. We are learning every day. Thank you!

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10 hours ago, Nreekay said:

May I ask where you found the information on the geology surrounding Cochrane 

Google is your friend!  A few words in a search engine and you can get a wealth of information. Now admittedly it is not always easy to sort the wheat from the chaff but if one is familiar with geology and/or paleontology it is much easier to relatively quickly find the resources that are likely to give you the answers. My first task was to find out where Cochrane was - haha.  After that, a few quick articles on the area and it’s geology (including Wikipedia) and a geologic map of the area provided me with key info. 

 

After seeing your better pictures and reading some more, it’s possible this is from the Paleocene aged Paskapoo Formation which is common in your area. The formation commonly has lots of plant material which is possibly what all the dark material is. While @Rockwood has another possibility that the dark material is all reworked clasts, very angular clasts along with extremely rounded clasts seems like that would be the exception rather than the rule. If indeed it is plant material, then perhaps the rounded piece is a seed, which have been reported from the Paskapoo.  So, without seeing this in person, or really good pictures which could indicate fossil vs rock for the dark material, it may remain a bit of an unknown. I am still in the fossil camp at the moment. 

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23 hours ago, ClearLake said:

Google is your friend!  A few words in a search engine and you can get a wealth of information. Now admittedly it is not always easy to sort the wheat from the chaff but if one is familiar with geology and/or paleontology it is much easier to relatively quickly find the resources that are likely to give you the answers. My first task was to find out where Cochrane was - haha.  After that, a few quick articles on the area and it’s geology (including Wikipedia) and a geologic map of the area provided me with key info. 

 

After seeing your better pictures and reading some more, it’s possible this is from the Paleocene aged Paskapoo Formation which is common in your area. The formation commonly has lots of plant material which is possibly what all the dark material is. While @Rockwood has another possibility that the dark material is all reworked clasts, very angular clasts along with extremely rounded clasts seems like that would be the exception rather than the rule. If indeed it is plant material, then perhaps the rounded piece is a seed, which have been reported from the Paskapoo.  So, without seeing this in person, or really good pictures which could indicate fossil vs rock for the dark material, it may remain a bit of an unknown. I am still in the fossil camp at the moment. 

Thank you so much! I appreciate your time and have enjoyed your information and interpretation.

E&B

 

On another note, my son and I just came back from the overflow pond and he found a large chunk with shells. He’s an expert spotter. Can’t wait to open it up.

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