Jump to content

Far back into the Sacramento Mountains

Kato

By Kato
in Fossil Hunting Trips

 Share

Recommended Posts

Kato Regular Member

Kato

Posted
Posted

A daylong venture into the back canyons of the Sacramento Mountains to look for minerals and fossils. From the trailhead & back was just under 9 miles and lots of rock scrambling through Ordovician-Pennsylvanian formations.

 

A dryfall requiring a climb around

image.png.53737bde7f1c4ccf23b4bdcf58ea021e.png

 

Overhang with rippled sandstone floor having iron concretions

image.thumb.png.e038f1833458f05dbd437bbc1e7ec40d.png

 

A view back down hill partway to summit

image.png.6a29429aeaa57edc54bea63bea9da0d5.png

 

Horn corals

image.png.67f842a48b210515d3a9c027f4fe26b2.png

 

Maybe coral?

image.png.c9a99060b5d38a0e39b7a37654cac5ed.png

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • I found this Informative 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kato Regular Member

Kato

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Summit view

image.thumb.png.4c5bc03640b50084b652ccd36e392582.png

 

Shells

image.png.80be0fda82ca61ff552d37f55a5977f8.png

 

Root fossils? Something else?

image.png.99cc5ec1b21e04d7846348b146846839.png

 

Coral? Favistina Stellata? Or just natures trick of latticework of crystallized chambers?

image.png.3d1739969001bc2524fb68a34b9265c5.png 

 

Band of limonite on want-to-be marble?

image.png.2dcf05613409624269091d9d73c9ca3a.png

 

Hematite specimen

image.png.55750cf0b3b0e6a86924b1e72caf78d3.png

 

  • I found this Informative 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fossildude19 Regular Member

Fossildude19

Posted
Posted

The "Root fossils" look like orthocone cephalopods, to me. 

  • I found this Informative 4

    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
Tidgy's Dad Regular Member

Tidgy's Dad

Posted
Posted

And the "maybe coral" is a compound coral, maybe from the family Lithostrotionidae. 

And the shells look like brachiopods, productids, I think. 

Lovely photos! :)

  • I found this Informative 3

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FossilDAWG Regular Member

FossilDAWG

Posted
Posted

What formation (or formations) are you searching?  The brachiopods look Mississippian or Pennsylvanian to me.  Orthoconic cephalopods are rare in either period in New Mexico.  There are Favestina corals in the Montoya Formation (Ordovician), but that does not match the lithology of the outcrops you showed.  Also I don't think the preservation of that specimen provides enough detail for an ID beyond "tabulate coral".

 

Don

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
caldigger Regular Member

caldigger

Posted
Posted

The scenic surroundings were worth it even if you didn't find anything.

Dorensigbadges.JPG       

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kato Regular Member

Kato

Posted
  • Author
Posted
10 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

What formation (or formations) are you searching?  The brachiopods look Mississippian or Pennsylvanian to me.  Orthoconic cephalopods are rare in either period in New Mexico.  There are Favestina corals in the Montoya Formation (Ordovician), but that does not match the lithology of the outcrops you showed.  Also I don't think the preservation of that specimen provides enough detail for an ID beyond "tabulate coral".

 

Don

Yes! My mistake. I started out in Ordovician (El Paso - Montoya - Valmont), then Silurian, Devonian...found this on my return leg before dropping into the alluvial deposits. A closer shot.

 

image.thumb.png.0df1a21ddd7610ce6cd535f8741f2ee3.png

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kato Regular Member

Kato

Posted
  • Author
Posted
26 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

The "Root fossils" look like orthocone cephalopods, to me. 

Thank you for the ID! I was in what was called the Caballero Formation when I found the specimens. Based on what you wrote I did find an online paper on "The Discovery and Significance of Cephalopod Fauna in the Mississippian Caballero Formation of New Mexico.  The photo plates in the paper are striking similar.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wrangellian Regular Member

Wrangellian

Posted
Posted

I can't decide which is the cake and which is the icing, between your scene shots and the fossils! Someday I might make it to the Land of Enchantment myself...

Were you able to collect some of the fossils or were they all stuck in place?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DeepTimeIsotopes Regular Member

DeepTimeIsotopes

Posted
Posted

Rolling hills and craggy outcrops sounds like my kind of landscape.:D Nice pics and finds!

  • 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

Doesn't time just fly by?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kato Regular Member

Kato

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

I can't decide which is the cake and which is the icing, between your scene shots and the fossils! Someday I might make it to the Land of Enchantment myself...

Were you able to collect some of the fossils or were they all stuck in place?

This was more of a 'Search&Record' locations mission and I didn't know how difficult this hike was going to be so I hiked light (no tools to extract specimens with). It was Class 3 mountaineering towards the summit of this hike so I was glad to not be rucking an overly heavy bag for no reason. Too much pack weight can make it dodgy if it is challenging terrain.

 

It turned out to be a really productive hike and I have coordinates for the specimens I want to return for such as cephalopods and coral. Hopefully, I can concentrate the search range to the Ordovician and lower Mississippian formations. I was just blasting through the area and a slower more focused search might yield more types of specimens.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wrangellian Regular Member

Wrangellian

Posted
Posted

I hear ya, but, no matter the terrain, I would be tempted to carry a bag with a bit of packing material in the off change that I found something I absolutely had to pick up - that was good enough and small enough to do so. The GPS thing is a good alternative, though! (I don't have one)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kato Regular Member

Kato

Posted
  • Author
Posted
7 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

I hear ya, but, no matter the terrain, I would be tempted to carry a bag with a bit of packing material in the off change that I found something I absolutely had to pick up - that was good enough and small enough to do so. The GPS thing is a good alternative, though! (I don't have one)

I know what you mean! I did pack small towels and ziplocs to protect the individual specimens I did collect. It's just my heavy duty collecting bag with hammer&chisles&small shovel + water+food+emergency supplies+50ft of rope is pushing 35lbs without specimens....then, add in 30-50lbs of specimens and I am definitely feeling it. This was part of my down climb and that day I was glad to be canyoneering with a lighter pack. I am climbing solo so I need to take precautions or it could be a long time before someone finds my carcass.

 

A view down the chute

image.png.1322ffdd345d25c169e5b68fa77e2f4e.png

 

Looking back at chute 

image.png.774220e64ba297a3f40941b0e92ada98.png

 

Until I started marking spots with GPS I was definitely having a low success rate at finding specimens on return trips. When I do haul out loaded packs I lower the pack down such climbs using my rope rather than down climb with the pack on which would certainly result in a bad ending.

 

  • I found this Informative 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wrangellian Regular Member

Wrangellian

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Kato said:

I know what you mean! I did pack small towels and ziplocs to protect the individual specimens I did collect. It's just my heavy duty collecting bag with hammer&chisles&small shovel + water+food+emergency supplies+50ft of rope is pushing 35lbs without specimens....then, add in 30-50lbs of specimens and I am definitely feeling it.

 

In a case like that I guess you could at least carry out the best 10lbs or so of fossils...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FranzBernhard Regular Member

FranzBernhard

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Kato said:

This was more of a 'Search&Record' locations mission

What a nice and productive prospecting trip! Thanks for taking us along with you!
Franz Bernhard

Link to comment
Share on other sites
andreas Regular Member

andreas

Posted
Posted

Thank you for the nice report! I envy you when I look at your sunny pics. When I look out the window all I see is snow. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

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
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...