Jsiegmund Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 My son's love of dinosaurs has inspired us to look for fossils. We found several of these pitted rocks along the railroad tracks. Are they fossils? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 Welcome to the Forum. Unfortunately, I think these are geologic in origin, and not fossils. Igneous rocks, maybe something like vesicular basalt. 2 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER 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 More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 I think that's iron slag. The stuff that's a little to dirty to make frying pans from, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 If you are good with precision specific gravity might differentiate between iron slag and basalt. Iron slag would be denser I think. The examples I'm thinking of, also from a rail road setting, were mixed with coal clinker and the heft made me believe that was the ID on them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 (edited) @Jsiegmund North Carolina has a great variety of fossils, but it greatly depends on where you are in the state. The Coastal Plain is loaded with sites ranging from the Cretacous to the Pleistocene. The Piedmont has a few Triasic localities, but the foothills and mountains are void of fossils. Generally any area west of of the I-85 corridor is not fossiliferous. Edited September 2, 2021 by sixgill pete 1 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 1 hour ago, Rockwood said: If you are good with precision specific gravity might differentiate between iron slag and basalt. Iron slag would be denser I think. The examples I'm thinking of, also from a rail road setting, were mixed with coal clinker and the heft made me believe that was the ID on them. Basalt is actually denser than slag. Slag may also show signs of oxidizing (rust) There aren't any occurrences of vesicular basalt in the Carolinas that I'm aware of 1 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 7 minutes ago, hemipristis said: Basalt is actually denser than slag. Slag may also show signs of oxidizing (rust) There aren't any occurrences of vesicular basalt in the Carolinas that I'm aware of I suppose the examples of basalt that I've encountered have been quite vesicular or heavily weathered. Geologically I'm a long time from seabed here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsiegmund Posted September 15, 2021 Author Share Posted September 15, 2021 If it is iron slang, would it be magnetic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 I can't say that I've ever tried it, or can right now, but I imagine it would depend on how tired the person running the ladle was at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 14 minutes ago, Jsiegmund said: If it is iron slang, would it be magnetic? Not usually. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER 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 More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 Especially as you go toward the older and more privative smelters a considerable amount of metallic iron could be present accidentally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 actually looks a little cherty when you blow it up. A county would certainly help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 11 minutes ago, Plax said: actually looks a little cherty when you blow it up. A county would certainly help. It would look like buck shot if you blew it up. Does it sometimes have a rust color, or is my color vision failing me again ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 Just take a better picture and get away from the jokes, 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