Fossil1632 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Looking for a well know site, believe it's a road cut, in Maysville KY. The site cuts through several formations of the Cincinnatian. From bottom to top, it exposes the Kope, Fairview and Bellevue Formations. Any idea where this is exactly (I.e road intersection, etc?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facehugger Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Google Maps with satellite imaging is your friend. I am not familiar with Kentucky. But there is a massive road cut found US HWY 62, just south of 3056. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 from James St. John OSU-Newark Geology A very large exposure of Upper Ordovician rocks occurs ~2 miles northwest of the small city of Maysville, northeastern Kentucky. This is the Maysville West roadcut (although it is known by other names as well). Maysville West occurs just on the Kentucky side of the large Harsha Bridge over the Ohio River, along either side of the relatively new Rt. 62/68 bypass around Maysville (see map). The road cuts through Jersey Ridge, and was formerly known as Rt. 3071. This cut is excellent for seeing stratigraphy, but also has fantastic fossil collecting. GPS of cut: 38° 40.407' North, 83° 47.830' West. The Maysville West roadcut is the NE-SW trending whitish-gray streak just above the center of this satellite photo. The dark blue curving feature is the Ohio River. (Satellite photo provided by TerraMetrics & Google Earth) Maysville West has nice exposures of the middle and upper Kope Formation (Edenian Stage, lower Cincinnatian Series), the Fairview Formation, and the Bellevue Limestone (both lower to middle Maysvillian Stage, middle Cincinnatian Series). The Bellevue Formation is also referred to as a member of the lower McMillan Formation/Grant Lake Formation. The Kope occurs at the bottom of the cut and is generally shale-rich. The Fairview occupies the middle portions of the cut, and is roughly 50-50 limestone & shale. The Bellevue occupies the top portions of the cut, and is dominated by limestone beds. Looking ~N. The photos above & below show the northwestern side of the Maysville West roadcut. The top wall in the pics (above the top visible bench) is Bellevue. In general, the next three walls down are Fairview Formation. The wall seen at the bottom right corner of the pics is the top of the Kope Formation. The formation contacts do not coincide with bench levels, however. The thick, light-colored limestone bed in the upper Fairview Formation here is a seismite horizon. It has highly convoluted bedding and contains limestone breccia. It has been interpreted as a portion of the ancient Ordovician seafloor that was significantly disturbed by a paleoearthquake. Seismites have been identified throughout Kentucky in the Middle and Upper Ordovician. The Maysville West roadcut has produced some fantastic fossils, including rare edrioasteroids, “pockets” of glyptocrinid crinoid heads, cyclocystoids (including at least one unnamed& undescribed species), large Rusophycus carleyi burrows (made by Isotelus maximus asaphid trilobites), etc., etc. Maysville West is a great place for obtaining “star bryozoan” specimens (Constellaria florida) and large Platystrophia ponderosa orthid brachiopods. Horizons of large trepostome bryozoan masses (called “reefs” by at least one bryozoan worker) occur in the Bellevue Limestone near the top of the cut. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil1632 Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 Minnbuckeye-thanks Is it surface collecting or do you need a pick and hammer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Either/Or. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 You'll probably find 10 times as much material surface collecting as you will by hammering, but the trade-off is always how much weathering has occurred since the fossil was exposed. Look around the surface awhile and if you're not satisfied with the results, bring out the hammer. Please wear eye protection. Fossil hunting by Braille really sucks. 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...
Jeffrey P Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 I was there last spring. I climbed to the top of the exposure, but it was steep and tough. There are fossils in all of the layers. Probably best to visit after a good amount of rain, provided no one else, especially a large group has scoured all of the best stuff. I would definitely bring a hammer and chisel. You might just find the perfect fossil on a rock that's otherwise too big to carry home. I found a nautiloid when I was scouting the top and I didn't have my tools with me. Fortunately I was able to break up the rock by lifting it and throwing it down. Eventually the nautiloid popped out in a few pieces I was able to glue back together. Good luck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShanLambert Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 Question for you guys on this thread. I will be in the Lexington/Cynthiana area of KY the week after Christmas and was looking to go to Trammel Park in Ohio. I have just recently learned of this place in Maysville, which would be closer! The above picture shown looks like this cut is really tall. Can you easily walk along those cuts? Thanks in advance for any advice & suggestions! I'm used to shark tooth/fossil hunting in South Carolina, so this will be a whole new experience for me... ~Shannon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 (edited) @ShanLambert The Maysville cut would definitely be better than Trammel Fossil Park. So would dozens of other road cuts that are closer to you. If you go to Maysville, you could also consider heading a bit further to a good sized cut just west of Georgetown Ohio. There are also numerous cuts on the SE side of Cincinnati In Kentucky that would be closer and way better than Trammel. Edited November 28, 2021 by ClearLake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Based on what I saw upon my last visit to Trammel, they should rename it “Trample.” 1 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Uncle Siphuncle said: they should rename it “Trample.” Haha and very true. It’s a fine place to take the kids or if you live five minutes away, but I would not make it my “destination” stop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShanLambert Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Went there yesterday and found some neat things! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Good job! Gotta love that Cincinnatian stuff!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbudge Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Very nice! My Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarrieB Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 On 12/31/2021 at 8:08 PM, ShanLambert said: Went there yesterday and found some neat things! Very nice! I am in Lexington and look forward to experiencing the Maysville site myself some day soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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