Trilobite City - Lake Cayuga, Ny

[hitekmastr]

Trilobite City - Trip Report - Lake Cayuga, NY

Nan and I wanted to combine fossils and fishing at Lake Cayuga, one of the finger lakes and one of our favorite places in New York but we didn't know if there were any fossils there. A little Google research revealed that there are a dozen gorges (we hiked at one) and several very good fossil sites. Our goal was to find a site where we could collect mostly trilobites.

I called in advance the Portland Point Quarry which is where Cornell University classes hunt trilobites, and there are some cool trip reports online - however, the quarry staff said they do not allow collecting, for insurance purposes.

However, they referred me to a salt mine down the road which graciously invited us to collect at a shale pit/slope where collecting is allowed. The upper levels are chained off and restricted but it's ok to collect at ground level. At first we thought this would restrict our finds but quickly found that this is "trilobite city" and there are quite a few trilos to find. The photo below shows Nan at the site. The first trilobites we found were visible in the substrate - you can see me pointing to one specimen.

The substrate is extremely crumbly and this is one of those sites you hear about all the time where the trilos break into pieces when you try to extract them. The crumbly nature of the substrate allowed the pieces to be removed mostly by hand although to extract larger pieces to preserve trilobites intact required some careful hammer and chisel work.

We found trilos in a specific zone where we used some geological clues to identify areas that included trilobites. In general, we found that a lower layer contained very small trilobites and later we discovered that a slightly higher layer had larger trilobites - not sure if these are babies and adults, or two different species. Here are some of our finds:

The third image shows bits and pieces that we call "trilobits" - mostly cranidium structures, eyes, etc. that popped out of the substrate during collection.

Here are a few closeups of individual specimens:

These and other images are posted on the Fossil ID section and I'll add the species names later.

This trip was thoroughly enjoyable. The concentration of trilobites made this an extremely worthwhile visit. The company landowner was gracious and welcoming. We found more trilobites on this trip than any other site visit.

We also spent several hours in the Paleontological Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY - the Pre-Cambrian, Cambrian, Devonian and Carboniferous fossils - our primary interest - were eye-opening and some of them were stunning and everything was labeled, with accompanying videos and fact sheets. The fossil assemblages were especially striking.

We hiked along a scenic gorge at Taughannock Falls (fossil hunting is not allowed in the gorge) and visited Ithaca Falls where we saw (but did not collect) some trace fossils. We would like to find more sites in the area and do more exploring. Many of the local people said "there are lots of fossils around here" and given the gorges and deep cuts in the landscape, this doesn't surprise us. Take a look at this photo I took of Taughannock Gorge - imagine the fossils lurking in those cliff walls!

Based on this trip we would like to find more fossil sites to visit in the Lake Cayuga area and are open to any ideas anyone would like to offer for our next trip, later this summer.

Oh...last but not least...just for fun - I mentioned that we made this a "fossil and fishing" trip...we did spend a couple of days just fishing. Here's a small bass I caught (we also caught larger bass). The second photo shows me fighting a 10 pound Northern Pike which you can see in the bottom right corner if you look closely - the pike bit the line and broke off but Nan was able to capture this picture of me fighting the fish.

[trilobiteruss]

Wow an awesome trip. Trilobite city indeed, congrats. And fishing to boot, my grandkids would be in heaven, they love fishing, I do it because they like to do it, I would rather be hunting for trilobites given a choice but I love blessing them.

Wish those lakes were closer that is an awesome area geologically and paleontologically. Have been thru there once would love to have more time.

thanks

russ

[Auspex]

Your diligent research really paid off, and how nice that the landowner was so gracious!

[MarleysGh0st]

Your diligent research really paid off, and how nice that the landowner was so gracious!

They've known people have been collecting there for a long time and have always unofficially welcomed them, as long as safety rules weren't being violated. This year, they've added a sign that makes it more apparent that visitors are welcome.

Although it's probably not too hard to figure out the company involved, I've blanked out their name and logo in this photo, just to keep things unofficial, here.

[BOBCAT]

Holy Dinah looks like you hit the mother lode for Trilobites, I am truly in awe. What a treat and a treasure you have found.

[hitekmastr]

They've known people have been collecting there for a long time and have always unofficially welcomed them, as long as safety rules weren't being violated. This year, they've added a sign that makes it more apparent that visitors are welcome.

Portland Point Sign.JPG

Although it's probably not too hard to figure out the company involved, I've blanked out their name and logo in this photo, just to keep things unofficial, here.

Thanks for posting this. Unfortunately, it appears that the main quarry is off limits to most people and that's a much more extensive site/property. Also, I wonder if anyone finds anything in the cliffs along the creek that runs behind the quarries? The land is privately owned I was told but I'm curious to know what might be there.

[hitekmastr]

Holy Dinah looks like you hit the mother lode for Trilobites, I am truly in awe. What a treat and a treasure you have found.

Haha - Bobcat - what a coincidence - I was just this morning reading YOUR terrific posts which included fascinating material from your backyard!

[hitekmastr]

Your diligent research really paid off, and how nice that the landowner was so gracious!

Much of what we've learned about field work including getting landowner permissions, what to look for and where, and lots more, came from our friends on this site so the least we can do is repay the favors by posting our finds and some trip reports. It is also very encouraging to know that when we get back from a grueling trip cracking and fracking in the sun (fossil pits always seem to be hot enough to fry an egg!) - we can get really quick ID and input/feedback from our Forum friends!

[MarleysGh0st]

You did well, for such a short visit! As you noted, all of the shale on the surface suffers badly from weatherization. Since I want fossils that won't crumble away in my hands, I always use my rock hammer and chisel to pry up some intact slabs beneath the surface.

Based on this trip we would like to find more fossil sites to visit in the Lake Cayuga area and are open to any ideas anyone would like to offer for our next trip, later this summer.

I'd like to find more local sites, too, but Portland Point is the only one I've visited. Like you said, the state parks prohibit collecting, and most of the other land around the lake is privately owned. There's a gorge behind my home that's owned by the city; it's used (legally) for hiking and (illegally) for swimming. I'm not sure what their policy is about fossil hunting, but that's something I should check out. In any case, the bedrock around Ithaca and the southern end of the lake is all Upper Devonian, in which the fossils are far less abundant than our Middle Devonian rocks. That's why I go to Portland Point--it's the southermost point where the Middle Devonian formations are exposed at the surface.

What I can suggest is that you join one of the Museum of the Earth's summer field trips, if any of those fit your travel plans. The remaining trips are all to the north and east of Ithaca, though:

July 20 - Schoharie, NY
August 17 - Morrisville, NY
September 21 - Jamesville, NY

There's also a Summer Symposium coming up on August 3-4. The second day of that will involve a field trip to some (undisclosed) locations nearby, led by Dr. Carlton Brett, one of the leading authorities on the Devonian of New York. Last year's symposium field trip stopped at three different locations, I'm not sure how many are planned this year, aside from the final one, a boat ride to Staghorn Point on Skaneateles Lake. I'm looking forward to it!

[hitekmastr]

You did well, for such a short visit! As you noted, all of the shale on the surface suffers badly from weatherization. Since I want fossils that won't crumble away in my hands, I always use my rock hammer and chisel to pry up some intact slabs beneath the surface.

I'd like to find more local sites, too, but Portland Point is the only one I've visited. Like you said, the state parks prohibit collecting, and most of the other land around the lake is privately owned. There's a gorge behind my home that's owned by the city; it's used (legally) for hiking and (illegally) for swimming. I'm not sure what their policy is about fossil hunting, but that's something I should check out. In any case, the bedrock around Ithaca and the southern end of the lake is all Upper Devonian, in which the fossils are far less abundant than our Middle Devonian rocks. That's why I go to Portland Point--it's the southermost point where the Middle Devonian formations are exposed at the surface.

What I can suggest is that you join one of the Museum of the Earth's summer field trips, if any of those fit your travel plans. The remaining trips are all to the north and east of Ithaca, though:

July 20 - Schoharie, NY

August 17 - Morrisville, NY

September 21 - Jamesville, NY

There's also a Summer Symposium coming up on August 3-4. The second day of that will involve a field trip to some (undisclosed) locations nearby, led by Dr. Carlton Brett, one of the leading authorities on the Devonian of New York. Last year's symposium field trip stopped at three different locations, I'm not sure how many are planned this year, aside from the final one, a boat ride to Staghorn Point on Skaneateles Lake. I'm looking forward to it!

Great information. We've found that often there is a way to get permission if we talk to the right people and I'm hoping that some Cornell contacts can get us permission to visit the Portland Quarry. Also, the city gorge may or may not be off limits for fossiling but also it is sometimes possible to get temporary permission. And of course, contacting local landowners might get access - that's how we got our Tully site permissions. I called the local historian at one city and she introduced me to a realtor who introduced me to some landowners who then gave permission...where there's a will, there's a way.