Nimravis Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Today I drove the great distance of 10 whole miles to collect along a creek. I have known about this location for many, many years but did not know the exact location. I first read about it in the old 1964 Edition of "Fossils in America" written by Jay Ellis Ransom. Though i was only 3 years old when this book came out, it must have been a great edition for any fossil collector in the United States. It does it's best to give the location of fossil collecting sites in every state by County. For the fossils that I was after today, Tentaculities oswegoensis, it mentioned that they were found in Kendall County, and this area is the only location that this species is found at. As luck would have it, I received an e-mail from a fossil buddy who mentioned that he had been out there collecting some and he was able to pin point the location for me. It was along a nice creek, but due to the constant rain that we have been receiving, the creek was high and running fast, but I was able to collect a few examples. I do not know if this is a location that I will visit again, maybe when the creek is down, but it was very close to home and I did have fun. These fossils are supposed to be Upper Ordovician in age and from the Maquoketa Group (446-440 MYO) @Peat Burns / @Tidgy's Dad / @Monica you might enjoy this post. Here are some pictures of the creek and the exposure- Here are some pictures of my finds, first as I picked them up and later with a 1 cm scale cube. With Scale Cube- There are also brachiopods to be found there, here are a couple examples. 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Very cool, Ralph. Those are monsters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smt126 Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 This rain has been brutal this year. I've had rivers running through it all year. Got to love the clay soil the glaciers dumped in my back yard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 It’s always nice when you find something so close to home!! Very nice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Sweet!! Thanks for sharing! And thanks for the locality pics, too. I like this environment very much, these creeks are so similar to some of the larger creeks around me. And my closest fossil sites are a little less than 10 miles away, both miocene and devonian sites. Well, for the closest devonian sites I have to drive through some traffic-jammed suburbs... Thanks again! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 13 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said: And my closest fossil sites are a little less than 10 miles away Yes that is nice, on Monday I am driving 5 1/2 hours to go collecting and once there, I will have more driving hitting road cuts, it will make for a long couple days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Congratulations. Always nice to add some unique specimens to the collection and those are exquisite. Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Thanks for the report and congrats on the finds. Nothing like a bit of detective work to increase the chances of success! 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Nice finds! Love the terrain of that site. 1 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...
stats Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Cool! Looks like the Tentaculites found in the Larson Quarry near DeKalb. Cheers, Rich 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Beautiful finds, Ralph - I love tentaculitids I hope you had a great day collecting in Kentucky today!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Very nice, Ralph. Those Tentaculites are lovely and the brachiopods rather interesting as well. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted October 5, 2019 Author Share Posted October 5, 2019 37 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Very nice, Ralph. Those Tentaculites are lovely and the brachiopods rather interesting as well. Thanks Adam and to think that they are only a few miles from my house- and welcome back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Awesome finds! I have never seen curved Tentaculites before and those are some big examples too. Thanks for sharing! -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Great report and finds, Ralph! Thanks for the post. 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...
Nimravis Posted October 9, 2019 Author Share Posted October 9, 2019 @Shamalama and @Fossildude19 thanks for the comments, this location has a small footprint and you can find this cool fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 I just ordered a used copy of that book for $7 from Abe Books. I think it's the 1970 edition. Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Quite a neat location! I had never heard of this site (nor Tentaculites) but found it after a little detective work. Found quite a few Tentaculites as expected, as well as a few bryozoans and brachiopod fragments (sorry for the lack of scale cube, don't have it with me right now). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 2 hours ago, connorp said: Quite a neat location! I had never heard of this site (nor Tentaculites) but found it after a little detective work. Found quite a few Tentaculites as expected, as well as a few bryozoans and brachiopod fragments (sorry for the lack of scale cube, don't have it with me right now). You can find Tentaculites at the old Larson now Vulcan quarry in DeKalb. Cheers, Rich 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted October 14, 2019 Author Share Posted October 14, 2019 3 hours ago, connorp said: Quite a neat location! I had never heard of this site (nor Tentaculites) but found it after a little detective work. Found quite a few Tentaculites as expected, as well as a few bryozoans and brachiopod fragments (sorry for the lack of scale cube, don't have it with me right now). Nice finds- Looks like the river was running fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Nice specimens! Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 From what I have been able to gather, the outcrops along this creek are part of the Brainard Formation, which is a member of the Maquoketa Group as suspected. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjw Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 I love those photographs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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