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Was At St. Clair Today And Got Some Great Material!

Shamalama

By Shamalama
in Fossil Hunting Trips

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Shamalama Regular Member

Shamalama

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Went up to St. Clair today and man did I make out well. Found an old pit someone had dug and, after moving some overburden, got down to good rock. The layers I was working were about 6" thick and bounded on the top by barren rock (possibly a paleosol) and the bottom by a layer of decorticated tree trunks. In between was fern heaven dominated by Alethopteris and Neuropteris. I did find a couple of Pectopteris pieces and some Calamites branch sprouts but that was about it for diversity. Over 100 lbs of rock hauled back to my car in two trips. Here are some pics that are the tip of the iceberg of what I found.

One of my piles of keepers.

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More in the next post...

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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Shamalama Regular Member

Shamalama

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Trigonocarpus seed

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My best plate, 12" across

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-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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Shamalama Regular Member

Shamalama

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Another keeper pile from later in the day

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A slab that I brought home to split some more.

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My work area

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-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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sixgill pete Regular Member

sixgill pete

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Very Nice.

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

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Plantguy Regular Member

Plantguy

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Oh, man. Great finds! I was in a phosphate pit today....andI found some vert stuff but its just not the same!

Thanks for sharing the photos!

Regards, Chris

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Jeffrey P Regular Member

Jeffrey P

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Congrats Dave on an exceptional haul. St. Clair still yields an incredible amount of awesome fern material, but your finds represent a really great day. The Neuropteris frond at the bottom of the first post is one of the best I've seen. Question is; where are you going to store all of that stuff? Anyway, you've got me pining to return. Best wishes.

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Fossildude19 Regular Member

Fossildude19

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Great finds, Dave!

Your legendary shale splitting skills served you well.

Thanks for posting these fantastic finds.

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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fossilized6s Regular Member

fossilized6s

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Very nice haul! That St.Clair stuff with the contrast of colors is amazing! Some of those slabs would look great framed!

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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Pagurus Regular Member

Pagurus

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Thanks for showing off some of your great finds, Dave. I know how hard you worked for them. I feel a little sorry for your poor car though, not to mention your back. Ouch. Worth it though.

Mike

Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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Shamalama Regular Member

Shamalama

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Hey guys, Thanks for all the comments.

Pagurus - Yes, my back is a little sore today. Looks like I found my weight limit!

Wrangellian - In some places it can be tough to get a sizable chunk out. Where I was mostly involved pulling the 4' of debris off the top layers and the rock was fractured enough to pull out slabs. Heck, there was a family that came down from Ottawa to collect and they were getting some good slabs out too from a different spot. One just has to dig and split and hope you get a good layer.

Jeff - Lucky for me I have an unfinished attic to store all my finds and I expanded it when I put an addition on last year. Still, I have to parse through boxes from time to time and cull out the so-so stuff. I wish I could have found that Neuropteris frond intact to the tip. Fist time I have found them with the pointed leaflets intact on a frond. Usually I just find the short rounded leaflets.

Couple of site photos

On the trail to the site

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One of the main collecting areas

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-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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Wrangellian Regular Member

Wrangellian

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Looks kind of like my local go-to spot except the trees are a little more stunted/thinner!

Wrangellian - In some places it can be tough to get a sizable chunk out. Where I was mostly involved pulling the 4' of debris off the top layers and the rock was fractured enough to pull out slabs. Heck, there was a family that came down from Ottawa to collect and they were getting some good slabs out too from a different spot. One just has to dig and split and hope you get a good layer.

Do people have to fill in the holes they dig, and if so, is it obvious where you should dig to find 'virgin' ground where the chunks are closest to the surface?

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lissa318 Regular Member

lissa318

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Holy cow!!!! Way to go!!! Looks like you took tons of beautiful pieces home with you! The white on black is stunning. I'd be framing some for sure. :D

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Shamalama Regular Member

Shamalama

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Looks kind of like my local go-to spot except the trees are a little more stunted/thinner!

Do people have to fill in the holes they dig, and if so, is it obvious where you should dig to find 'virgin' ground where the chunks are closest to the surface?

Trees are stunted because of lack of fertile (or in some cases ANY) soil. No requirements to fill in holes and this is something of a boon for other collectors. find a hole where others have been digging and look around for cast off pieces. I left behind some pretty nice pieces because of weight and I already had so many. Once you find a good spot it's a matter of time and hammering to get the slabs out. The area is heavily faulted so finding large intact blocks can be tough. Even then the rock can range from very hard to more easily splittable depending on localized pressure and heat variations (presumably) and weathering. Below are pictures of micro faults running through a portion of the site.

post-1408-0-96146200-1414451264_thumb.jpg post-1408-0-26274500-1414451267_thumb.jpg

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-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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squali Regular Member

squali

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That's a lot of work Dave with a worthy outcome.

I haven't been there in almost 20 years but am thinking time has come. Hopefully we'll have a milder winter.

Thanks for posting

Jeff

It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators.

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Wrangellian Regular Member

Wrangellian

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Trees are stunted because of lack of fertile (or in some cases ANY) soil. No requirements to fill in holes and this is something of a boon for other collectors. find a hole where others have been digging and look around for cast off pieces. I left behind some pretty nice pieces because of weight and I already had so many. Once you find a good spot it's a matter of time and hammering to get the slabs out. The area is heavily faulted so finding large intact blocks can be tough. Even then the rock can range from very hard to more easily splittable depending on localized pressure and heat variations (presumably) and weathering. Below are pictures of micro faults running through a portion of the site.

I see what you mean. My local stuff is badly fractured too, and I'm dealing with more 3D fossils, It's got to be easier to collect 2D fossils in such material than 3D ones..

Trees: also less rainfall and maybe harsher winters might have something to do with it?

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  • 1 month later...
Stocksdale Regular Member

Stocksdale

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Great stuff. I really want to get there at some point in my life.

Alethopteris really dominates this late Carboniferous forest.

Has there ever been any research as to what percentage of fossils are alethopteris at St. Clair?

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.–Carl Sagan

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  • 3 weeks later...
sue in ohio Regular Member

sue in ohio

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Nice finds Dave!! I miss collecting in PA..gonna have to make a trip home next spring/summer and hit up all my old sites...NY too.

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