Vancouver Island, B.C. Trip

[Norki]

Because it's only a short ferry ride away from the mainland, I often try to make a point to go to Vancouver Island when I have some time free, both to explore its natural beauty and to hunt for fossils in its rich and varied Cretaceous deposits. Much of the eastern coast of the island adjacent to the Strait of Georgia, as well as many of the smaller islands just offshore, are underlain by the Nanaimo Group - an ancient marine basin whose age extends from about 90 to 65 million years. Many of the shorelines, creeks, and quarries of Vancouver Island, where the formation crops out, can be explored for their fossil bounty.

I've just come back from a solo camping trip a few weeks ago, where I spent most of my time exploring the abandoned shale pits east of Nanaimo. While this was the main purpose of the excursion, it also gave me a good reason to visit the Courtenay and District Museum to get some paperwork sorted to donate a fossil cycad seed I found on a previous trip (detailed here). That said, I'm going to cheat a little in this post, and also include some photos and finds from two previous trips - one earlier in the spring, and another from late last summer. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

First I'll start with some photos from the field.

 

Late summer, 2021

 

Glyptoxoceras fragment (Trent River):

 

 

Seals chilling in the distance, Hornby Island:

 

 

The elusive otter:

 

 

The iconic arbutus!:

 

 

Sunset, Hornby Island:

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Norki

[Norki]

Late winter + spring, 2022

 

Cougar footprint... Quite melted in the snow, but a good reminder to keep an eye out!

 

One of the localities near Nanaimo is in an active motocross pit. They don't seem to mind as long as you keep off the tracks:

 

 

Puddle jumping sometimes required... Shelter Point:

 

 

Oyster catchers, of course!

 

 

The aptly named Miracle Beach (no fossils, just killer views):

 

 

 

Ammonite Falls nears Nanaimo (no collecting allowed, protected area!):

 

 

 

 

Back in the motocross pit, a huge Inoceramus vancouverensis:

 

 

...And a nice Canadoceras:

 

 

Big Canadoceras (more on this later):

 

 

Finally, some scenery from around the old quarry:

 

 

 

 

 

My little tent. The moss was quite comfy:

 

 

Trent River Falls (got skunked, still cool though):

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Norki

[Norki]

And finally... The fossils:

 

Of course, we have the iconic Longusorbis cuniculosis from Shelter Point:

 

 

Decapod bits. Small concretions like this are common throughout the Nanaimo Group, this one is from the Trent River I believe:

 

 

An interesting and rare example of a Cretaceous brachiopod, Cyclothyris suciensis from near Nanaimo:

 

 

A double Sphenoceramus elegans from near Nanaimo - I quite like this one:

 

 

Bitty little shark tooth fragment:

 

 

Gastropods. Oligoptycha corrugata and unknown, still need to ID the second (both from near Nanaimo):

 

 

 

Insect trace fossils on fossil wood, from near Nanaimo:

 

 

Speaking of plant fossils, here is the fossil cycad seed that I mentioned earlier, found on Browns River. I don't have it anymore, because I sent it off to be studied at Oregon State University:

 

 

Heteromorph ammonites Polyptychoceras vancouverense, both from Trent River. This first one still needs to be prepped out, but the concretion is extremely hard:

 

 

 

A small little Eupachydiscus perplicatus from near Nanaimo. Not only is this a rare ammonite to begin with, this one was also found in an outcrop that was virtually void of ammonites at all:

 

 

A busted up Pseudoschloenbachia umbulazi from, you guessed it, near Nanaimo:

 

 

And finally, some Canadoceras yokoyamai, another iconic fossil from the area (near Nanaimo, of course). I'm quite happy with the large one, and even submitted it to the IFOTM contest:

 

 

 

 

 

And one last little bonus. These Inoceramus vancouverense are so common on the island that I took some back to make a bird bath for my garden:

 

 

Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!

Edited March 31, 2022 by Norki

[Jared C]

Great photos as well! Seems like Vancouver is the place to be

[Ludwigia]

Excellent report! Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have a few friends on the island and have been dreaming about visiting them for quite a while. One of these days.....

[RJB]

Great report and some great pics.  Brought back some memory's for me too.  Ive been to three of those places

 

RB

[digit]

What a spectacular trip report! Thanks for taking us along.

 

Some wonderful fossils found on that trip that are so entirely different from those that we find down here in Florida.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Vancouver Island is a killer place for summertime "climate refugees" from Texas, like me.  Been there twice, can't wait to return.

[Neanderthal Shaman]

Wow those ammonoids are superb! I'm from the Puget Sound region of Washington State and have been dreaming about a fossil hunting trip on Vancouver Islands for quite some time, as it's just 4-5 hours away. If you don't mind sharing, where are some good places on the island to look for fossils?

[FossilDAWG]

Wow, what a blast from the past for me.  I used to live in Vancouver, and I got over to the island on occasion.  I am sure I have been to all the sites you showed.  Interesting that the motocross pit in Nanaimo is still collectible.  I passed by there two years ago but I was discouraged by the locked gate.  I have a conference in Vancouver in November and I hope to pop over to the Island again.

 

Don

[Norki]

23 hours ago, Jared C said:

Great photos as well! Seems like Vancouver is the place to be

 

21 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Excellent report! Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have a few friends on the island and have been dreaming about visiting them for quite a while. One of these days.....

 

17 hours ago, digit said:

What a spectacular trip report! Thanks for taking us along.

 

Thanks all! I will obviously highly recommend visiting if you ever get the chance - if not just for the fossils, but also the unique and laid back atmosphere of the place...

 

19 hours ago, RJB said:

Great report and some great pics.  Brought back some memory's for me too.  Ive been to three of those places

 

RB

 

12 hours ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

Vancouver Island is a killer place for summertime "climate refugees" from Texas, like me.  Been there twice, can't wait to return.

 

7 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Wow, what a blast from the past for me.  I used to live in Vancouver, and I got over to the island on occasion.  I am sure I have been to all the sites you showed.  Interesting that the motocross pit in Nanaimo is still collectible.  I passed by there two years ago but I was discouraged by the locked gate.  I have a conference in Vancouver in November and I hope to pop over to the Island again.

 

Don

 

Glad I was able to jog some memories with this post. The fossil sites on the island seem to be alive and well, if seemingly a bit picked over (maybe we can blame Beard and Ludvigsen for that ) - but like anywhere persistence is still rewarded. Thankfully they're not such unpleasant places to spend time in.

 

And yeah, the locked gate is discouraging. For what it's worth, there's an access point to another shale pit a little further up the road that's also fossil bearing, though I haven't seen Canadoceras or many other ammonites there yet. In any case, you can also access the motocross pit from there if you want.

 

8 hours ago, Neanderthal Shaman said:

Wow those ammonoids are superb! I'm from the Puget Sound region of Washington State and have been dreaming about a fossil hunting trip on Vancouver Islands for quite some time, as it's just 4-5 hours away. If you don't mind sharing, where are some good places on the island to look for fossils?

 

Lots of these sites are very well documented - I would check out the definitive guidebook, West Coast Fossils by Graham Beard and Rolf Ludvigsen for starters. I've personally collected in the following locations, that are all pretty easy to find: the shale pits on Doumont Road west of Nanaimo, Trent River, Browns River, and Shelter Point. There are also many others that I haven't had a chance to visit yet, but if you're considering a trip and want more specific information about these spots, feel free to send me a message.

[Mark Kmiecik]

Very nice. Thanks for the tour.

[Neanderthal Shaman]

10 hours ago, Norki said:

 

 

 

Thanks all! I will obviously highly recommend visiting if you ever get the chance - if not just for the fossils, but also the unique and laid back atmosphere of the place...

 

 

 

 

Glad I was able to jog some memories with this post. The fossil sites on the island seem to be alive and well, if seemingly a bit picked over (maybe we can blame Beard and Ludvigsen for that ) - but like anywhere persistence is still rewarded. Thankfully they're not such unpleasant places to spend time in.

 

And yeah, the locked gate is discouraging. For what it's worth, there's an access point to another shale pit a little further up the road that's also fossil bearing, though I haven't seen Canadoceras or many other ammonites there yet. In any case, you can also access the motocross pit from there if you want.

 

 

Lots of these sites are very well documented - I would check out the definitive guidebook, West Coast Fossils by Graham Beard and Rolf Ludvigsen for starters. I've personally collected in the following locations, that are all pretty easy to find: the shale pits on Doumont Road west of Nanaimo, Trent River, Browns River, and Shelter Point. There are also many others that I haven't had a chance to visit yet, but if you're considering a trip and want more specific information about these spots, feel free to send me a message.

Thanks for the info! I've been meaning to get my hands on that book, but never did beacuse Canada had its borders shut and I didn't see myself getting in anytime soon. Now that they're letting tourists back in, my dad and I are wanting to see more of BC, in particular we've been wanting to go to Yoho and the Burgess Shale for quite some time.

[Jeffrey P]

Some really beautiful specimens there! In addition to those spectacular ammonites, the brachiopods, oysters, and gastropod are also quite fine. Congratulations and thanks for sharing. Lovely photography. Like the others, Vancouver Island is on my wish list for many reasons. 

[fossisle]

On 3/30/2022 at 10:19 PM, Norki said:

small little Eupachydiscus perplicatus from near Nanaimo. Not only is this a rare ammonite to begin with, this one was also found in an outcrop that was virtually void of ammonites at all:

May be the rarer Menuites

[Norki]

On 11/7/2022 at 12:52 PM, fossisle said:

May be the rarer Menuites

Interesting, I'll have to look into this. I'm definitely not very confident about my Eupachydiscus ID, I believe I made it in reference to another photo somewhere on the forum. In any case, this ammonite has a unique morphology compared to the others that are typically associated with this site, particularly the combination of constrictions, ribs, and the double row of tubercles on the sides. Have you heard of or seen Menuites occurring in the Haslam formation or anywhere else in the Nanaimo Group?

Edited November 10, 2022 by Norki

[fossisle]

Hi Norki

I have a couple from the Trent River Polyzone. 

 

[Norki]

13 hours ago, fossisle said:

Hi Norki

I have a couple from the Trent River Polyzone.

 

Interesting. I wonder if it's also been reported from the Haslam fm? I got a copy of Haggart and Ward's 1989 report "New Nanaimo Group Ammonites (Cretaceous, Santonian-Campanian) from British Columbia and Washington State" (at the advice of one of your posts in another topic), which describes the local Menuites. I'll take a closer look to see if it matches up.

Edited November 10, 2022 by Norki

[Norki]

In the meantime, I might as well add some new photos to the thread. Here's another Canadoceras I found in the Nanaimo shale pits this summer, and a rather large one at that:

 

 

 

And a family photo with some other Canadoceras (plus tiny Menuites?):

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Norki

[Norki]

Found and prepped another Canadoceras yokoyamai, and was pretty happy with how it turned out:

 

 

 

(click for full size!):

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by Norki

[Neanderthal Shaman]

11 hours ago, Norki said:

Found and prepped another Canadoceras yokoyamai, and was pretty happy with how it turned out:

 

 

 

(click for full size!):

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous!