Fossiling Locations In Nevada

[premierjet855]

Hi everybody! I'm going to be in Las Vegas for about 4 days in August for a wedding. Does anyone know of any fossiling locations within a reasonable drive (3 hours or so)? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Not sure of exact distance, but you might look up U-Dig trilobites in Antelope Springs, UT.

[geofossil]

One of my all time favorite fossil areas is just north of Las Vegas. I've collected there a half dozen times.

Look on the Interstate a half hour north of the city. There's a town 'Glendale'....turn west on hwy 168...go for 20kms and on the north side there are lots of slopes with Mojave-type vegetation around them. This is an excellent area for Upper Carboniferous fossils...lots of brachiopods, a few corals, and a few paleozoic shark teeth in the matrix. The fossil rich spots are 'here and there' so don't get discouraged.

Unless things have changed in the last couple years, you can camp out at the base of the slopes. Note: if you're going in august the temperatures will be over 100c (at least). I've never been there at that time but even this time of year it can get 'real' hot going up and down the slopes. I was pouring a canteen of water over my head and a little lizard ran over and licked drops of water off the desert floor around my feet. There's also Mojave rattlers but they won't be out in the heat.

The town of Mesquite is just a bit further up the road. There's casinos, etc. if you want a place to veg out and get a cold beer, etc.

[geofossil]

Speaking of Las Vegas, here's a lesson in trying to ID a fossil from the outward appearance with no info.

The first gastropod is from the locale above north of Las Vegas: Upper Carboniferous (~300 milion yrs ). The second is Jurassic (~150 millon years) from Deux-Sevres France.

Carboniferous (6cm) Jurassic (6cm) Pleurotomaria

Pleurotmaria ?

The genus Pleurotomaria in the Carboniferous? The above two specimens are similar in both size and appearance. The Jurassic specimen (right), however, is 'only' 150 million years old as opposed to the 300 million year age of the Carboniferous fossil.