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Around Salt Lake City in 3 Days


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So I’m still snowed in so here’s a trip from warm Early June. My friends and I wanted to hit all the closest rock locations around Salt Lake City and search for fossils and cool sedimentary geology (a couple of them being sedimentary geologists). We visited the Southern Oquirrh Mountains and a few canyons over on the east side of the valley at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. Here are the stratigraphy columns for both provided by Geolgic History of Utah by Lehi F. Hintze and Bart J. Kowallis. 9BBF7672-7ECF-4714-9111-2E80616A5B0C.thumb.jpeg.56721f34a80143b43489a7d466096745.jpegE3AFDED7-FC1E-42B2-896E-C085BF468D57.thumb.jpeg.591e137836643e85c8f833c5b210e267.jpeg

I did not lead this trip so I am not certain which rock layers the fossils were each from (I’ll point out the ones I do know) but I’ll say we went through the Cambrian and Mississippian in the Oquirrh Mountains and basically everywhere on the Salt Lake City column.

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Right off the get go up Mercur Canyon, we’ve found some brachipods and horn corals. Time to call it a day and go home right?21897E00-2487-445E-8413-E0FA30AF3739.thumb.jpeg.63dfabc85e4ebb565a0afc26ff698272.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Wrong, we’re just getting started. Here’s the outcrop where the above stone came from.

E82E1E5C-AFFE-4136-AB66-3D03D4BBCDD0.png

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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My sedimentary geologist friends informed me that this entire outcrop of blue micritic limestone is devoid of (macro)fossils. But is full of tectonic fractures.

3DE414E9-4E47-42A7-8753-34AD16E25049.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Another (fossil-less)outcrop of micritic limestone. This time it’s been slightly metamorphosed and heavily weathered to produce this razor sharp texture. It looks soft in the picture but I shredded a good pair gloves on it.

3B261C90-6F10-444D-BD0E-63A4A93E51D9.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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We hiked for another hour up the road looking at more “fossil empty” sedimentary formations until finally farther up Mercur Canyon we came across some more fossils (about time:raindance: Can you spot it?

E72FEC8D-628F-4A41-A583-90D814EE4FD2.jpeg

Side note for those structural junkies. The crack is lined with calcite from hydrothermal alteration.

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Another one from the same outcrop 

221ACDAF-F03F-4700-A079-63C108D0F25E.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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A depositional contact. 

The sea level in this location had regressed (meaning “dropped” in sed. geologist language) so that we see a switch from deeper water shale on bottom to a shallow water limestone up top.

B9AE9F54-F5E4-4BBA-9923-654E74BA764C.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Another break from fossils to enjoy some structural geology. These parallel calcite veins show which direction the most stress on the rock occurred during the uplift of the Oquirrh Mountains.   36108BFB-AB88-4654-BF6E-EB7975224CEB.thumb.jpeg.149277a41a86e6cbfe9cd17588fbb61e.jpegThe veins are in the same direction of the stress meaning the direction of the most stress (called principle stress direction in structural geology) was from the top to bottom of the image.8EDD0419-5C79-4190-B0D6-78EAEA56FA02.thumb.jpeg.d7848c911e0cc9e298ff17b9bfe715b5.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Some wonderful jointing (which is a crack in the rock with less than a couple of centimeters of offset unlike a fault)

 

75F45F9E-B249-4371-AF59-86F46BC9379F.jpeg

9A55A2CB-B93A-4D88-83F3-5365CA8BB44E.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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I know you’re getting bored of structural geology so here’s the landscape the following morning.9D96FD10-48AE-406D-978E-3E73C062D496.thumb.jpeg.80fb3d8d62f41945c9290d34d662ad98.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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The desert in the spring has some wonderful surprises.348B8D70-BC93-4A20-AB43-7CA4DCEF2193.thumb.jpeg.234dc948547422838aad225a5b75e1bd.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Alright back to the fossils. How about some Great Blue Limestone? 85D967DE-CA68-450D-8EF4-EDA72548157B.thumb.jpeg.db0e947f529109c6b90c154fb893615a.jpeg

This was just chock full of fossils and this is also where I got this plateE6B779CB-99C3-47DB-8CF3-AF1444D09BF9.thumb.jpeg.e36f1ef587301ae27b7ff41240cc715e.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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A huge spiriferid brachipod the top is 3 centimeters across 

0EE11A5C-7A8C-4C15-B8CD-C780296CCC96.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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While this looks like a nearby stream that’s actually the fossiliferous outcrop. 

8C5A0655-D4CE-4E9A-BF20-04E3DDC6725D.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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0541004F-4481-463D-87E8-D99A4E6E4F21.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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46 minutes ago, Heteromorph said:

Beautiful natural structures and hunting scenery!:popcorn:

Yes it is!

Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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Neat report - thanks for sharing :)

-Christian

 

P.S. That structural geology stuff is far from 'boring' - don't worry about that ;)

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Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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20 minutes ago, UtahFossilHunter said:

While this looks like a nearby stream that’s actually the fossiliferous outcrop. 

8C5A0655-D4CE-4E9A-BF20-04E3DDC6725D.jpeg

 

known in amateur circles as "creekalike". :muahaha:

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Alright. Day 3, we’re over on the Wasatch Mountains. Here’s a picture of cyclic shales and sandstones meaning this area oscillated between beach and shallow seas over several million years or as I was told by the sed. geologists with me.

A0B857B4-0339-46A8-BFC1-81693D5C05F3.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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The mother of all limestone outcrops with abundant brachipods and bivalves. Some bonus en echelon fractures in it as well from the Wasatch Fault nearby.F07F564B-0B5D-44C5-AF0A-5AFD2B77F8A5.thumb.jpeg.b727c639bd11b1c231ffa0ebc9b5fe4a.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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I’ll end this post with a picture of one of the greenest spots in Utah. Thanks for reading!

63FF1BCC-8211-4D06-9118-D0836BB9E78D.jpeg

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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34 minutes ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

Neat report - thanks for sharing :)

-Christian

 

P.S. That structural geology stuff is far from 'boring' - don't worry about that ;)

Thanks, I’m glad someone else finds it interesting.:D

  • I found this Informative 1

Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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35 minutes ago, goatinformationist said:

 

known in amateur circles as "creekalike". :muahaha:

At least it had fossils in it:hearty-laugh:

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

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