Jump to content

Ammonites and Alberta


pRoDiUeS

Recommended Posts

  I am itching to find my first ammonite. The problem is I dont know where to look. I know they are found in southern alberta but here is my question.

 

Can ammonites be found anywhere in alberta? Also I live on a very large lake in northern alberta, is it worth my time to look around my lake for ammonites? I dont want to bother if it's not possible to find any. Also any advice on ammonite hunting would be much appreciated.

  • I found this Informative 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The information at this website is very old, and no longer accurate. 

It is a good place to start your research from, though. 

Good luck. 

  • I found this Informative 3

    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  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are certainly ammonites in Alberta, but you have to look in the right places, which is to say in outcrops of marine Mesozoic formations.  Cretaceous rocks are most widely exposed, but Jurassic and Triassic formations occur in the Rocky Mountains.  If you tell us where you are located (not exact GPS coordinates but a nearby town will probably do) we might be able to look up something about the local geology.

 

Don

  • I found this Informative 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, FossilDAWG said:

There are certainly ammonites in Alberta, but you have to look in the right places, which is to say in outcrops of marine Mesozoic formations.  Cretaceous rocks are most widely exposed, but Jurassic and Triassic formations occur in the Rocky Mountains.  If you tell us where you are located (not exact GPS coordinates but a nearby town will probably do) we might be able to look up something about the local geology.

 

Don

I live by lesser slave lake in alberta. Not to be confused with Great Slave Lake that is further north lol. If you could help me out with the local geology that would be awesome. I have googled it but came up with nothing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a geological map of Alberta:

Geology of the Alberta Basin and study regions (blue = Saline Aquifer Mapping area in deeper basin; red= shallower basin area: geological map modified from from Mossop and Shetsen, 1994).  

(from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Geology-of-the-Alberta-Basin-and-study-regions-blue-Saline-Aquifer-Mapping-area-in_fig1_266596492)

 

I hope you get to find your first ammonite - I'd love to find my own, too, but unfortunately I don't live where any can be found :(  Best of luck to you in your hunt!

 

Monica

 

PS - You may want to look into the rules regarding collecting fossils in Alberta - I know they are stricter than the rules here in Ontario...

 

 

  • I found this Informative 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Monica said:

Here is a geological map of Alberta:

Geology of the Alberta Basin and study regions (blue = Saline Aquifer Mapping area in deeper basin; red= shallower basin area: geological map modified from from Mossop and Shetsen, 1994).  

(from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Geology-of-the-Alberta-Basin-and-study-regions-blue-Saline-Aquifer-Mapping-area-in_fig1_266596492)

 

I hope you get to find your first ammonite - I'd love to find my own, too, but unfortunately I don't live where any can be found :(  Best of luck to you in your hunt!

 

Monica

 

PS - You may want to look into the rules regarding collecting fossils in Alberta - I know they are stricter than the rules here in Ontario...

 

 

Thanks for the info. Ya I have already looked into it. We are allowed to surface collect in alberta. Excavation is illegal. We do not own the fossils when we find them, the province does. We are just custodians of them. And we can not take them out of the province without asking first. Also if we find a fossil and the province believes it to be important they can take it from us. What's it like there in Ontario?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, pRoDiUeS said:

Thanks for the info. Ya I have already looked into it. We are allowed to surface collect in alberta. Excavation is illegal. We do not own the fossils when we find them, the province does. We are just custodians of them. And we can not take them out of the province without asking first. Also if we find a fossil and the province believes it to be important they can take it from us. What's it like there in Ontario?

 

@Kane nicely outlined the "rules" for collecting fossils in Ontario within this thread:

 

 

Basically, if a fossil is found on public land (but not in a provincial or national park) or on private land with permission, AND it's not valued at more than $500, then the finder can keep it, trade it, etc.  The rules seem to be quite a bit less restrictive than in Alberta...

 

Best of luck with your ammonite-hunting!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...