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Today I decided to go and visit a roadcut that I red on one of the Silurian literatures I got my hands on (a big thank you to those that led me to those PDFs relating to the geology of the Niagara Escarpment). It turns out the roadcut on the Niagara Escarpment is near my home which is a pleasant suprise to me, considering that I have been disappointed by the Queenston formation. 

This roadcut is actually several exposures that run on an access road that can lead one to the upper part of Hamilton, Ontario. 

Here is the exposure I decided to explore.

 

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I chose this exposure as the access is a busy boulevard with cars driving by with no sidewalks and pedestrians. I had several people honk and call out to me as I was exploring the site. Maybe I should have worn a safety vest of some sort? Is that even necessary?

 

 

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A pic of how the site shows a transition from the Late Ordovician to the Early Silurian. The reddish bottom at ground level is the Queenston formation and the two layers of limestone above it is the Whirlpool formation. Above these two layers of limestone is the Manitoulin formation, Cabot Head formation and the Grimsby formation (the last two formations were higher up and difficult to photograph from where I was).IMG_3631.thumb.JPG.e8e01b0e9a79e551b5418b46444b7f89.JPG

Another take. 

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The Whirlpool formation (the two limestone bands) above the Queenston's red shales. IMG_3620.thumb.JPG.6fbe1d133fcf65e0660a66beed99cc4a.JPG

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Hmm, I do know that most of the natural quarries in my city (which has fossils) are by the roads. Only that I feel like If I dug there, someone would call the cops on me. But are you really allowed do that?

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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3 minutes ago, Macrophyseter said:

Hmm, I do know that most of the natural quarries in my city (which has fossils) are by the roads. Only that I feel like If I dug there, someone would call the cops on me. But are you really allowed do that?

Thats what I was wondering. I did not dig though; only surface collect. But these roadcuts do not belong to any quarry as far as I know.

 

What struck me most with this site are pillow rocks. I think these are suppose to represent earthquakes that happened in the Early Silurian. These pillow rocks are just above the Whirlpool formation so I'll say these are in the Manitoulin formation. IMG_3609.thumb.JPG.beebd81055e6755dbe17b39be59b1ae4.JPG

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These pillow rocks are nearly or are 3 ft long vertically. 

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Speaking of surface collecting this is what the bottom of the site looked like. There were lots of loose rocks from different formations. And being new to the these Silurian formations and the fact that I was not able to concentrate on identifying what I was looking at (too much cars passing by), I only took home just a small piece of brachiopod Whitfieldella sp. from the Cabot Head formation. There were plenty of other fossils but I did not collect them as of yet.

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Some ichnofossils. 

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Hi there!

 

Those exposures look great!!!  But please do be careful...

 

(Also, I don't know the rules about collecting along roads here in Ontario except you're not supposed to do it along 400-series highways - does anyone else know the rules?)

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you find... :popcorn:

 

Monica

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1 minute ago, Monica said:

Hi there!

 

Those exposures look great!!!  But please do be careful...

 

(Also, I don't know the rules about collecting along roads here in Ontario except you're not supposed to do it along 400-series highways - does anyone else know the rules?)

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you find... :popcorn:

 

Monica

This roadcut is not among the 400 series highway but think of it as a pass or some sort of boulevard. It is definitely not a highway.

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1 minute ago, JUAN EMMANUEL said:

This roadcut is not among the 400 series highway but think of it as a pass or some sort of boulevard. It is definitely not a highway.

 

Well, I hope that it is permitted because those rocks look really cool - I'd love to see more of what you find out there!!!

 

Stay safe...

 

Monica

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Some sort of Chondrites ichnofossil. 

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3 minutes ago, Monica said:

 

Well, I hope that it is permitted because those rocks look really cool - I'd love to see more of what you find out there!!!

 

Stay safe...

 

Monica

I hope someone can explain here what the rules/laws are with regards to fossil collecting along roadcuts in Ontario cuz there are good exposures to be found along roadcuts in southern Ontario.

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The brachiopod I was talking about. Whitfieldealla sp., Cabot Head formation. This is the only fossil I took home with me as this trip was mostly location scouting. 

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I also found a fenestellate bryozoa and some other brachiopods but those were a bit worn out. 

Other ichnofossils, possibly from the Queenston formation. 

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Hey, now you get to try your hand in the Silurian... Looks like you've made a promising start already. I don't see as much from the Silurian on here as from the Ordo and Devonian.

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4 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

Hey, now you get to try your hand in the Silurian... Looks like you've made a promising start already. I don't see as much from the Silurian on here as from the Ordo and Devonian.

Thanks Wrangelian. It's going to take time for me to really learn these sites. This is my first time at this site and who knows what might pop out.

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Whitfieldella sp. all washed up. 

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19 minutes ago, dinodigger said:

Absolutely wonderful outcrop photos. 

I could not agree more about those outcrops.

Oh, I nearly forgot about these crinoidal stems. 

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Thanks for looking 

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Seeing your wonderful finds, it temps me to go out and dig alongside the roadside quarries myself. Roadside quarries because those are the only natural quarries not protected by the quarter-annoying nature preserves (I know they're doing a wonderful job by protecting nature, but at the same time they're taking up all the fossiliferous lands.)

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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7 hours ago, JUAN EMMANUEL said:

 

I chose this exposure as the access is a busy boulevard with cars driving by with no sidewalks and pedestrians. I had several people honk and call out to me as I was exploring the site. Maybe I should have worn a safety vest of some sort? Is that even necessary?

 

I also don't know what the rules are, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. People just like honking horns, especially when you're just trying to relieve yourself :P  You could ask the Department of Transport if you'd really like to know. I've been digging at my exposure in the Danube Valley for a few years now and sometimes the street workers stop by to see how I'm doing. They just warn me not to dig too close in to the slope.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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I have driven by there many times, I would not think it safe along that road and I would think that the police would stop and tell you to move on.

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  • 5 years later...

Hello! I’m late to the party :)  Using your photo, can you tell me what the fossil in the yellow circle is? I have a hash plate full of them, and call them the pistachios. I also collected from the escarpment, specifically Devils Punchbowl. Thanks in advance! 

125DBDBB-F10C-4386-B8AC-F67B8382B5D8.jpeg

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12 hours ago, Jemstar said:

Hello! I’m late to the party :) Using your photo, can you tell me what the fossil in the yellow circle is? I have a hash plate full of them, and call them the pistachios. I also collected from the escarpment, specifically Devils Punchbowl. Thanks in advance! 

I'm not so sure if Juan will notice this, since he doesn't visit here all that often any more, so I guess I should tell you that it looks like a brachiopod steinkern showing the beak and septum.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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I'm pretty sure it's a pentamerid brachiopod.  The prominent septum in the middle is characteristic.  There are a number of species that are important biostratigraphy markers in the Silurian.

 

Don

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21 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

I'm not so sure if Juan will notice this, since he doesn't visit here all that often any more, so I guess I should tell you that it looks like a brachiopod steinkern showing the beak and septum.

Yes it's true I dont visit as much as I used to (Canadian winters are too long and unfortunately I'm not walking distance to my favourite sites). Also frankly not a lot of people in Ontario post here on the forum like they used to years ago, so there is barely any new content to anticipate. 

On 4/9/2023 at 3:52 PM, Jemstar said:

Hello! I’m late to the party :) Using your photo, can you tell me what the fossil in the yellow circle is? I have a hash plate full of them, and call them the pistachios. I also collected from the escarpment, specifically Devils Punchbowl. Thanks in advance! 

125DBDBB-F10C-4386-B8AC-F67B8382B5D8.jpeg

I have these pentameriids labeled as Pentameroides subrectus using references and they are common in the Reynales formation of the Clinton Group in Hamilton/Stoney Creek. 

Below are other comparable specimens I found of the species from Hamilton along the Niagara Escarpment. 

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Edited by JUAN EMMANUEL
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