Dan 1000 Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 This weekend I went on another fossil hunting trip with my dad. We went to a place called Bacchus Marsh which is around 65 km east of Melbourne. Here we went looking for Tertiary plant fossils such as Laurus and Cinnamonum. The site was a creek bed under an old bridge. The bridge was located next to the Western Freeway which connects Bacchus Marsh to Melbourne, and extends north to south, eventually emptying into the Werribee river (about 2km away). The creek also goes under the freeway through two tunnels and you can look for fossils on both sides of the freeway, but the side near the bridge had the best rocks. The rocks we looked for were Ferruginous sandstones which are late Paleocene (59 million) to Middle Miocene (14 million). The creek was dry and it didn't look there had been water in it for a long time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 1000 Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) Leaf fragments. This is what Laurus leaves look like today. Edited July 7, 2018 by DanKurek Added extra text 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 1000 Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) The bridge at the fossil site. The second picture is looking over the left hand barrier (South), the third picture is looking over the right hand barrier (North). Edited July 7, 2018 by DanKurek Edited the text. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 1000 Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 Under the bridge. The first picture is looking North, the sedond looking South Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 1000 Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) The first picture is from further south down the creek looking (north) back towards the bridge. The second picture is the tunnel openings under the freeway. The third picture is the creek on the other side of the freeway. They are building a housing estate there now. Edited July 7, 2018 by DanKurek Added a photo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Very nice! Australia has all sorts of goodies, doesn't it? -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Nice finds and a neat looking place to hunt. Thanks for sharing the adventure! Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 1 hour ago, DanKurek said: which are late Paleocene (59 million) to Middle Miocene (14 million). That’s quite a bit of time, includes both the whole Eocene and Oligocene! Nice plants “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Awesome, mate! I'd love to collect there one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Thanks for taking us to Australia again! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Beautiful flora, Daniel - thanks so much for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Great trip report and photos as usual! Nice plants. Thanks for sharing, Daniel. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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