kirkjeremiah23 Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I haven't been on here in awhile, but I recently moved from Kansas to Alaska and wondering if you guys have a ideas on fossil hunting up here. Let me know on some things I can find after the thaw. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Alaska is not only huge, but remote. Where in Alaska are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinlukers Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Welcome!!! I found a couple of small Gastropod near Fairbanks about 20 south on the shores while I was in the service... You'll find some on the shores.... Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 You can start your research here. Good luck. Regards, EDIT: a Google Search revealed many great links. However, be very careful of BLM lands and Native American lands. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM - APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 In the absence of specific location, all I can suggest is to hunt gravel bars in the rivers. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkjeremiah23 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 I am in the military and stationed at Ft Wainwright that is right outside fairbanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 The Fairbanks area is primarily Pleistocene... so yeah, check the rivers and sand bars if there are any. Or dig a hole in the ground. There is a guy in FB who dredges for I don't know what and finds a lot of Pleistocene bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 40 years ago, I knew a fellow who combed the gravel bars for chunks of fossil Mammoth ivory (the colors were fantastic), and scrimshawed them. He made a good living at this! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentrcarlson Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Hi there, I have a forest geologist friend in SE Alaska that helped excavate a thalattosaur (sp?) from the shoreline near Kake in between tides. He gave the OK to send his contact info on.. Good luck with the hunting! Jim Baichtal, Sc.D. (Hon.) Forest Geologist Forest Service Tongass National Forest (phone numbers and email have been redacted to protect Jim Baichtal's privacy) P.O. Box 19001 Thorne Bay, AK 99919 www.fs.fed.us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 On 1/12/2016 at 8:31 PM, Kentrcarlson said: Hi there, I have a forest geologist friend in SE Alaska that helped excavate a thalattosaur (sp?) from the shoreline near Kake in between tides. He gave the OK to send his contact info on.. Good luck with the hunting! Jim Baichtal, Sc.D. (Hon.) Forest Geologist Forest Service Tongass National Forest (phone numbers and email have been redacted to protect Jim Baichtal's privacy) P.O. Box 19001 Thorne Bay, AK 99919 www.fs.fed.us I had the honor and pleasure of prepping that thallatosaur in FB. And had the honnor of working with Jim. Good guy, but I don't think he knows much about fossils around FB. But if Jim proves me wrong, I am OK with that. If you get a chance go see the fossils of Alaska in the Museum of the North at UAF. Jim did the prep work on the big palm leaf there. NOt sure if the thallatosaur is on display or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkjeremiah23 Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 On 1/12/2016 at 8:31 PM, Kentrcarlson said: Hi there, I have a forest geologist friend in SE Alaska that helped excavate a thalattosaur (sp?) from the shoreline near Kake in between tides. He gave the OK to send his contact info on.. Good luck with the hunting! Jim Baichtal, Sc.D. (Hon.) Forest Geologist Forest Service Tongass National Forest (phone numbers and email have been redacted to protect Jim Baichtal's privacy) P.O. Box 19001 Thorne Bay, AK 99919 www.fs.fed.us Awesome. I will be sure to get in touch with him. Thanks again and will keep you guys updated on anything I find out here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossilified Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Hello, When I was a kid we'd go camp at Coyote lake in Sutton, AK. It has tons of petrified wood, horsetails, and other plants around the area. We hauled home a ~18" x ~30" very heavy chunk of gorgeous red petrified wood one trip. http://www.findingrocks.com/cgi-bin/viewlocation.cgi?location_id=398http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/081502/out_081502out0010001.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead9 Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 The cliff faces along rivers and streams are the best places to find Pleistocene fossils, especially mammoth tusks right after the spring runoff. The more remote you can get the better as there is a fair bit of competition. Still Life Fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 I sent the contact information to kirkjeremiah23 by PM, and I have redacted the phone number and email from the above posts. Personal contact information (phone numbers, email) should always be sent by PM. Putting such information on a publicly accessible site like this exposes people to having the data exploited by scammers and identity thieves. Come on people, you know this! Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 There are numerous areas where one may collect Jurassic and Cretaceous ammonites and other fossils in Alaska, though they may require significant effort (plus an ATV) to reach from Fairbanks. Here is a link to a web site created by an Alaskan collector that shows a very impressive fossil collection. If I ever win a big lottery I plan on spending a few summers in Alaska! Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Also, here is a link to an article about the thalattosaur that was mentioned. Interesting quote from JP: "I should say I’ve done some fishes but fishes – bah – a fish is a fish. This is a reptile, much more exciting”. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 On January 2, 2016 at 10:31 PM, kirkjeremiah23 said: I haven't been on here in awhile, but I recently moved from Kansas to Alaska and wondering if you guys have a ideas on fossil hunting up here. Let me know on some things I can find after the thaw. Thanks Some longtime ammonite collectors here might recall that there were a couple of nice finds of Jurassic and Cretaceous ammonites in Alaska back in the 70's or 80's. I don't recall the areas but they were so remote and mountainous that you could only get there by helicopter. I believe the collectors were fishermen who were also fossil collectors and they stumbled upon the sites while fishing. I do remember that one of the ammonites was Beaudanticeras (Early Cretaceous) and that at least a couple of specimens had some opalescence. The Jurassic ones were a matte black color. I saw a few specimens for sale in the 90's - haven't seen any since. There is some literature on the Mesozoic of the state. You would really have to be a serious collector/experienced outdoorsman because you might get stuck out there if there's bad weather and helicopter trips are not cheap. And of course, you'd need to ascertain the current ownership/government status of the sites once you found them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkjeremiah23 Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 I appreciate all the info. Unfortunately my time in Alaska is complete and now moving to portland OR on recruiting detail. Wasn't able to find much in regards to fossils but was able to pick up a partial tusk and Mammoth jaw with a tooth while in Alaska. Pictures to come soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 On 1/4/2016 at 10:23 AM, jpc said: The Fairbanks area is primarily Pleistocene... so yeah, check the rivers and sand bars if there are any. Or dig a hole in the ground. There is a guy in FB who dredges for I don't know what and finds a lot of Pleistocene bones. Link? Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 I just looked back through this thread and it seems my earlier use of 'FB' meant Fairbanks, not Facebook... so no link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 11 minutes ago, jpc said: I just looked back through this thread and it seems my earlier use of 'FB' meant Fairbanks, not Facebook... so no link. Oh, ok. Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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