Back to the Hell Creek Trip Report

[Thomas.Dodson]

I just returned to the site I mentioned in my previous Hell Creek trip report to give spend the day digging and exploring to see what else was left behind. I also stopped at another property in the morning that I recently obtained permission for.

 

The first site was beautiful and, despite the sparse fossils, was a fun way to start the day.

Lower in the layers some very sparse and fragmentary fossil shell material was found but it was really too fragmentary to collect or even get a good photo without bringing macro lenses. The lower portions did transition into coaly matrix of plant materials, mostly bits and stems. Probably the Fort Union Group.

Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii) starting to bloom.

Arriving at the Hell Creek site I made sure to take pictures this time. This was the original "excavation" site.

The remains of the old tarp.

Looking up at the site.

Digging at the excavation site and sieving produced very little so I eventually went surface gleaning the rest of the property and had a bit better luck.

Other parts of the property. I hiked long distances but it was beautiful out, 72 F, and a perfect breeze so I barely noticed.

A cute little Short-Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi) was also cooperative in getting its picture taken.

All the pricklypear cacti were in bloom.

This guy's legs and abdomen were loaded with pollen. I wish I had my camera and macro lens for this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thomas.Dodson]

Chunkosaurs were common once again.Some big, some small, some found away from the excavation.

A lovely little gar scale.

More turtle shell and scutes.

A bivalve impression was different so I grabbed it.

And the tip of an arrowhead that was found near the lizard.

[hadrosauridae]

Wow, youve got some big, ugly chunks!  Those were massive bone elements at one time.  The look of the bone material, the gar scale and turtle shell says that this was a river deposit.  The pre-depositional breakage and erosion says that this was probably a flooding deposit with material washed off flood plains and into a channel during a flood event, or that a flood buried a flood plain and its material.  It cant be done from just pics, but analysis of the stratigraphy and its contents would tell you a lot about the area.  

 

In the pic of the draw/erosional ravine is that a lot of ironstone on the surface, or something else?

[Thomas.Dodson]

7 minutes ago, hadrosauridae said:

In the pic of the draw/erosional ravine is that a lot of ironstone on the surface, or something else?

Yes, there's a lot of brown to black ironstone on the surface of the ravine as well as the excavation area. The ravine was about a half mile south of the excavation area and I found nothing there.

 

The ironstone throughout reminds me of the iron manganese carbonate material common in the Pierre Shale. A good example of the black type is the bivalve impression. The brown ones were more flaky and seemed to contain the most bone and accompanied any outcrop where I found significant chunkosaur material. I have a large piece of bone that is still in this matrix as well. There's also a lot of fragmentary wood content in the brown ones that seems consistent with flood plain or channel deposition.

 

 

[Nimravis]

Great report, love the lizard.

[Ludwigia]

Thanks for the report. Just curious. What are these round objects?

 

[Troodon]

Thanks for the report.  Those horned lizards must be everywhere.  Very common in where I collect.  Beautiful lily 

[Al Dente]

49 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

Just curious. What are these round objects?

 

I'm guessing rabbit or deer droppings.

[Thomas.Dodson]

4 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Thanks for the report. Just curious. What are these round objects?

Al Dente is correct, they're jackrabbit droppings.

[Ludwigia]

55 minutes ago, Thomas.Dodson said:

Al Dente is correct, they're jackrabbit droppings.

Modern coprolites then