Interesting Rock From Creek Bed

[nocerisdave]

My Dad found this rock in Marshall County, AL. Not really looking for an identity but thought I would post to see if folks would give their thoughts. Its from a creek bed where fossils from the Mississippian period have been found.

[Guest N.AL.hunter]

Sorry. but no pictures came through on your post. I live in Huntsville area. Welcome to the forum. We'll be gone until the 31, so Happy New Year!! Roll Tide

[nocerisdave]

I have posted here before in IMG code, and they could be seen. Should I post them in another format? Oh and War Eagle!

[Guest bmorefossil]

I have posted here before in IMG code, and they could be seen. Should I post them in another format? Oh and War Eagle!

you can try it again of like.

[tracer]

if you're referring to a mac disk image file, then that's a whole nother ballgame. try uploading standard .jpg images.

[Guest bmorefossil]

if you're referring to a mac disk image file, then that's a whole nother ballgame. try uploading standard .jpg images.

yea i would stick with standard .jpg image files

[Rose1611]

Hi, welcome to the forum! I can see the pics just fine, did you reload them? That's a lovely fossil... I assume it's some kind of bone, but I'm no expert, so that's about as specific as I can get. Still, nice to look at. If it's from Alabama, it's probably marine. Congrats to you and your dad!

[makoken]

My Dad found this rock in Marshall County, AL. Not really looking for an identity but thought I would post to see if folks would give their thoughts. Its from a creek bed where fossils from the Mississippian period have been found.

I also can see the pics now. Not sure if it's a bone? Looks like an iron concretion of some sort?

[Guest bmorefossil]

I also can see the pics now. Not sure if it's a bone? Looks like an iron concretion of some sort?

yea we get these iron concretions all the time, i really hate it when they look like teeth in the water and you pull these things out

[mommabetts]

Looks like concretion to me, I see no bone structure to it at all.

[Archimedes]

It is iron flow stone, was formed by fresh water flows sometimes after the cretaceous period, most of the time the iron was formed at the top of the fresh water table, and as the water table varies you get bands of iron, but are found in all shapes and sizes, This is the first one I have seen from Marshall Co. Al., you normally see them in west Al. The brown iron was mined heavily during the civil war in west Al. and west Tenn.. The iron was purified in smelter like the one below, these smelters were in operation from the 1830’s till the 1860’s. This is the only complete smelter I know of in existence, several others are partially there, the stone taken for other purposes.

[nocerisdave]

Thanks folks.

[Guest solius symbiosus]

It is iron flow stone, was formed by fresh water flows sometimes after the cretaceous period,

But, it was found in Miss??? I'm thinking that is instead Penn, and a hematite after siderite nodule. They are quite common in the Appalachian Highlands.

[makoken]

It is iron flow stone, was formed by fresh water flows sometimes after the cretaceous period, most of the time the iron was formed at the top of the fresh water table, and as the water table varies you get bands of iron, but are found in all shapes and sizes, This is the first one I have seen from Marshall Co. Al., you normally see them in west Al. The brown iron was mined heavily during the civil war in west Al. and west Tenn.. The iron was purified in smelter like the one below, these smelters were in operation from the 1830’s till the 1860’s. This is the only complete smelter I know of in existence, several others are partially there, the stone taken for other purposes.

Great info on the smelters. A little recent history. Very cool!

[Archimedes]

But, it was found in Miss??? I'm thinking that is instead Penn, and a hematite after siderite nodule. They are quite common in the Appalachian Highlands.

Parts of the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian has been removed by Mesozoic (Cretaceous) erosion events especially in west Alabama and in west Alabama the Cretaceous overlies the Miss. and Penn, and this iron washes down into all the creeks. These tube like iron objects are fairly common especially in west Alabama. In any event if you have a water well like I do on the farm you will find out you have to replace the pipes after many many years because of the iron build up in them, the water has a high iron content.