Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Hello fossil folks Just another one of those “Rediscovering New York” posts. This Edition will include my efforts looking for the Trenton group and exploring the Pulaski formation. More Ordovician exploration in the central New York area. This past Saturday me and my good friend Matt did some trout fishing in the Rome area and another town north of Rome. I had scouted these spots for 2 reasons.....trout and trilobites! One location seemed to have Trenton group exposures and another I had already confirmed as the Pulaski formation but wanted to explore it more. Both were located on stretches of the Mohawk River and anyone can go fish/hike these waters. I learned of another Trenton group exposure with trilobites but it’s posted trespassing. Eventually Ill get the courage to do some door knocking in the area to try and find the owners. I guess I don’t know what I would say lol. I wasn’t really in the mood for that so I went to legal stretches of the Mohawk River for this adventure. The goal: 1. Find Trenton group exposures 2. Confirm trilobites from the Pulaski formation 3. Catch trout!!! More to follow.... 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 This is the geologic map of the area I went to. I was interested in the places labeled OT and OPW. OT is the Trenton group....very broad but very enticing. OPW is the Pulaski formation and whetstone gulf formation. Also very broad but both have trilobites. I went to 3 spots. I’ll mention location 1 2 and 3 as I go so here’s a rough locality guide. I was able to see on google rock outcrops at location 1 and 2 so I wouldn’t be guessing looking for rocks. It also was clearly in the OT labeled part on the map. The question was what formation was it? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 The first place I went to was location 1 cause it looked like the best outcrops and there was a bridge which also tend to hold fish. As expected I found rocks.......it wasn’t exactly the formation I wanted. It was probably upper Trenton due to how close it was to the Utica shale parts of the map (yellow). It was a really interesting limestone series showing some layers extremely rich with crinoids and some layers extremely rich in brachiopods. The layers looked like they alternated in the sequence as well. This place produces very nice hash plates!! The top photo is a close up picture in the field of the crinoid rich layer. I took a sample representative of that layer. There is also a bryozoan in there! These are samples of the brachiopod (strophomenid?) layer. I really like these hash plates. There was so much of this stuff it was crazy! The fishing wasn't so good here. The water was murky so it kinda killed the bite. We didn’t stay long and shot over to spot 2. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 Location 2 was a very excellent exposure along the Mohawk River and is clearly frequented by fisherman. It’s a great spot but same story with water clarity so we didn’t stick around long. This is lower in the stratigraphy from location 1 and was clearly a different set of layers but was still very similar to location 1. If I were naming formations I would prolly put these together. It didn’t have as clear a pattern in the layers and I couldn’t find the brachiopod rich layers. I did see a fair amount of crinoids still. I imagine the rocks I found at location 1 and 2 are part of the same formation in the upper Trenton group. kind of a blah sample but I took something from here for comparison. We didn’t stay long cause other fisherman were there and the water was muddy here as well. At this point we made a quick 15 minute drive up stream to location 3 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 This next spot (location 3) proved to be the best option for fishing and trilobites! We only got about halfway down stream so I only visited the Pulaski formation. I need to go further downstream to the Whetstone gulf Fm. and see what else is there....but that’s for another day. The Pulaski formation is described as being alternating layers of shales and siltstones/sandstones. To say this location was scenic amazing and peaceful is an understatement. Just a few of the scenic views. Mini waterfalls were common....they ended up being the fishing hot spots! These vertical walls were impressive. The greenery really set the scene. Location 3 continued.... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 In general there weren’t fossils popping out of the rocks all over the place and this formation is a little less giving lol. I’m spoiled from my adventures where trilobite parts and brachiopods are the norm. The rocks were awesome here I will say that....great gorge, awesome little waterfalls, great wildlife etc. I took a pic of these geometric blocks seemingly plucked from their place. It was a fun stream to hike. I did stumble on this pygidium early on in the trip. Turned out to be the best trilo-bit I found. Here’s an at home picture. This came from the sandstone layer. It was so dang hard to reduce to a reasonable carry along size. I had to hike these rocks out so I couldn’t keep a big bag. Looks like a calymenid pygidium? I heard a type of calymene is found in this formation but I don’t know for sure. I also came across these trilobite cross sections. Like I said...this place was not spewing fossils. Took some walking and looking. I would come across a cephalopod here and there in blocks I could never reduce so these field shots are all I have to show for them lol. I thought this was interesting. Looks like a worm borrow of some kind? Sorry no scale...it was about 6 inches or roughly 15 cm. And of course......the fish.... A rather photogenic shot of a fish my friend Matt caught. He ended up catching 4 and missed 2 fish bites. I only caught 1 but I wasn’t disappointed. I’m a seasoned bass angler so I kinda had a hook set issue....I missed 2 fish cause I hook set way too hard. I kept that in mind and got it right with a nice gentle “lift” style hook set....not yank. It was my first attempt at trout fishing in over 15 years. Felt good to get one! All fish were released. I will also add these were native fish and not stocked trout!! Another bonus to the fishing trip....this stream was all natural with native trout . Lastly I have 3 samples I collected from my first scouting trip that also represent some of the things I was seeing in certain layers. This was a more shaley specimen with decently articulated crinoid columns on the front, back and within the sample. I was seeing these layers rich in crinoid segments now and then so I grabbed a sample of those. This is a chunk of a sandstone layer with some nice crinoid remnants running through it. In conclusion, it was a successful trip in the sense I completed my goals! I was able to locate a Trenton group exposure even though I wasn’t able to find the formation with trilobites. I also was able to find trilobite pieces in the Pulaski formation! That was really cool for me. They are clearly very scarce there and I doubt much better would be found but you never know. I will be going back for the fishing for sure!!! Of course I’ll be looking at the rocks in hopes I’ll find something more lol. Thanks for reading, hope you are enjoying these little New York rediscovery journeys! Al 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Nice finds! Thanks for taking us with you, virtually! 1 “...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...
Manticocerasman Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Great report and pictures Thx for taking us along . 1 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Nice fish, beautiful trilobite bits and great crinoid columns. I’d call that a successful trip! 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 More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 agree with the above comments Have to say: your photography is topnotch Below:image from "revised stratigraphy of the Trenton group in its type area,Central New York State:sedimentology and tectonics of a Middle Ordovician shelf to basin succession" Carlton Brett,Gordon C.Baird Physics and Chemistry of the Earth,27-2/2002,p.231-263 recommended for those interested in all things Trentonian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 I believe @Tidgy's Dad would live and breath that first spot. Nice stuff from New York! 2 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Great report Al- thanks for all of the work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Thanks for posting Al - I enjoy your reports and pictures. 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER 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 More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Beautiful pictures. I thought I "owned" a gorgeous trout stream. This one puts mine to shame!!! But I must correct you in that ALL brown trout are NON NATIVE to the USA. My stream has hatchery rainbow trout planted at each holiday. But our brown trout have always sustained themselves through natural reproduction. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 14 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said: Beautiful pictures. I thought I "owned" a gorgeous trout stream. This one puts mine to shame!!! But I must correct you in that ALL brown trout are NON NATIVE to the USA. My stream has hatchery rainbow trout planted at each holiday. But our brown trout have always sustained themselves through natural reproduction. Mike I should be more clear and call them holdovers. They are more colorful than the raised and stocked trout and don’t have their fins all scuffed up. The trout I caught were either stocked in years past or are descendants of stocked trout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Wonderful report and pictures, Al. Must have been quite the adventure. I too hope to do more exploring in New York's Ordovician exposures. Thanks for posting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 27 minutes ago, Al Tahan said: They are more colorful than the raised and stocked trout and don’t have their fins all scuffed up And are more wary of humans hence harder to catch than the hatchery fish that come running at the site of a person in hopes they get fed!! If you ever get up this way, I can guide you to bass, trout, AND fossils!!! Just let me know. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 9 hours ago, WhodamanHD said: Nice finds! Thanks for taking us with you, virtually! Your welcome and thanks for reading! 8 hours ago, Manticocerasman said: Great report and pictures Thx for taking us along . Thanks I enjoyed the views a lot and had to capture it! 8 hours ago, UtahFossilHunter said: Nice fish, beautiful trilobite bits and great crinoid columns. I’d call that a successful trip! It was a nice confirmation to find some trilo bits. Hopefully I can find some other formations that are more productive. 7 hours ago, doushantuo said: agree with the above comments Have to say: your photography is topnotch Below:image from "revised stratigraphy of the Trenton group in its type area,Central New York State:sedimentology and tectonics of a Middle Ordovician shelf to basin succession" Carlton Brett,Gordon C.Baird Physics and Chemistry of the Earth,27-2/2002,p.231-263 recommended for those interested in all things Trentonian Thanks for the visual! I just printed out this paper...or at least I’m pretty sure it’s this one based on the name. I haven’t read it yet but it looks like it will help me answer some of my questions. 4 hours ago, Nimravis said: Great report Al- thanks for all of the work. Thanks! I’m enjoying the exploring 3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said: Thanks for posting Al - I enjoy your reports and pictures. Thanks for the kind words tim. 3 hours ago, Jeffrey P said: Wonderful report and pictures, Al. Must have been quite the adventure. I too hope to do more exploring in New York's Ordovician exposures. Thanks for posting. Theres still a lot to discover! I still need to see how the whetstone gulf formation pans out downstream. As we know the pyritized trilobites come from the Frankfort shale in that formation. We will have to do a day searching the Ordovician. I’ll probably get out again in July searching Ordovician outcrops. Let’s keep in touch! 3 hours ago, minnbuckeye said: And are more wary of humans hence harder to catch than the hatchery fish that come running at the site of a person in hopes they get fed!! If you ever get up this way, I can guide you to bass, trout, AND fossils!!! Just let me know. Mike Where roughly are you? I’d love to find some bass, trout and fossils all in one!! A great combo for a day hike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 SE corner of Minnesota 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Lovely report and photos. Thanks for sharing. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Amateur Paleontologist Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Great report Al - love how you carried out the "investigation", and the fossils look really nice too! Beautiful scenery as well.. -Christian 1 Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy! Q. Where do dinosaurs study? A. At Khaan Academy!... My ResearchGate profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 @Tidgy's Dad @The Amateur Paleontologist Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Just a wonderful report! Thanks so much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 I like brownies. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 Thanks! @erose @Mark Kmiecik I’m starting to become a big fan myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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