Have any of you people hunted Maysville, Kentucky?

[Newbie_1971]

If so, how was it? I  believe I  am going to try it out this coming weekend and just wondered how it is, and what is commonly found there.

[Kane]

If you can get a copy of A Sea without Fish: Life in the Ordovician Sea of the Cincinnati Region by Richard Arnold Davis and David L. Meyer (Uni Indiana Press), not only is that an excellent resource, but does include a breakdown of various fauna found in the area. Although the book says Cincinnati as opposed to Kentucky, these geologic units don't know state boundaries (and it includes numerous references to the Maysville road cuts). It is a great read, too. If you have any difficulties acquiring a copy, let me know.

[Newbie_1971]

2 hours ago, Kane said:

If you can get a copy of A Sea without Fish: Life in the Ordovician Sea of the Cincinnati Region by Richard Arnold Davis and David L. Meyer (Uni Indiana Press), not only is that an excellent resource, but does include a breakdown of various fauna found in the area. Although the book says Cincinnati as opposed to Kentucky, these geologic units don't know state boundaries (and it includes numerous references to the Maysville road cuts). It is a great read, too. If you have any difficulties acquiring a copy, let me know.

Thank you.  Located some online. I  see ebooks pretty cheap, but would rather go with the actual book. Will more than likely order it today. Have you ever hunted the Maysville Cut?

[Kane]

I have not had the pleasure, sadly. It is on my list of locations should I find myself on an adventure into that part of the US. 

[Fossildude19]

4 minutes ago, Newbie_1971 said:

Thank you.  Located some online. I  see ebooks pretty cheap, but would rather go with the actual book. Will more than likely order it today. Have you ever hunted the Maysville Cut?

 

Check out a few fossil hunting videos on Youtube. I'm pretty sure a number of them have hunted the Maysville Road cut.  Very similar fauna to St. Leons.

Maybe not as many trilobites, though.

[FossilNerd]

Maysville is a massive road cut. Much bigger than St. Leon. I make the comparison since I know you have been there.

 

It exposes many Ordovician formations. The Bellevue, Fairview, and Kope if my early morning memory serves me correctly. Like many road cuts it is made  in levels. The walls here are steep and hard to climb to reach the higher levels. You could spend a week scrambling around the cut and never see it all. 
 

Typical Cincinnatian fauna can be found there as well as some rarer specimens (edrioasteroids come to mind). Yes, trilobites too.  

 

It’s a well known and often hunted site so if you search for “Maysville Kentucky fossils” or something along those lines in an internet search (or here on TFF) you will find plenty more information. If I think of something else to add I will, but first I need more coffee! 

[minnbuckeye]

I visited the Maysville road cut once and can say that it was OVERWHELMING! My preparation ahead of time did little good when I came face to face with this massive exposure of Cincinnatian rock. Then when I decided which level to hunt, the next dilemma was how to reach it. My finds did not live up to my expectations, though I did not allot enough time to explore it properly.

[Newbie_1971]

18 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

I visited the Maysville road cut once and can say that it was OVERWHELMING! My preparation ahead of time did little good when I came face to face with this massive exposure of Cincinnatian rock. Then when I decided which level to hunt, the next dilemma was how to reach it. My finds did not live up to my expectations, though I did not allot enough time to explore it properly.

That is not good. My girlfriend and myself were going to make the trip there. She is not good at scaling hills, and is not confident in her footing. Guess I will scratch that one off, and go there sometime solo. Would you happen to have any destination recommendations that her and I  could possibly check out within an hour or so of Cincinnati? Trilobites of course would be the focus mainly for me.

[minnbuckeye]

There are hundreds of road cuts  between Cinci and Maysville that are easier to access. Learn which formations contain the likelihood of trilobites and then research the road cut geology to find the best to hunt. Even in the right formation, trilobites (whole) are not common. So enjoy the other creatures preserved in the matrix as well.

[erose]

Visit the Drydredgers website and look up the old field trips. I've never been there but hear it is awesome. Maybe pick a. formation and concentrate on that.  I would love to have more Fairview material for instance.

[connorp]

If you want to find cool stuff, you need to learn the Cincinnatian stratigraphy. A lot of interesting fossils occur in narrow beds, and you are unlikely to stumble upon them by chance. You need to learn to find and read academic papers, and then to translate that knowledge in the field. It took me a couple years of research to really understand the Cincinnatian stratigraphy, and I still have a lot left to learn. You need to commit time, and people giving you sites will not help.