Mid-Holocene Fossil Oyster TX

[austinswamp]

Good afternoon, just finished reading about how the Colorado river in Austin was essentially the beach during the mid-Holocene. I’ve attached the image from the article showing this sea level rise. This article reminded me of all the oyster shells I find in select spots along the Tavis/Bastrop county line. There are also archaeological sites in the area where marine diatoms are documented dating to the mid Holocene. Curious if anyone has heard of this. The article is from July of this year. 

[Al Dente]

1 hour ago, austinswamp said:

just finished reading about how the Colorado river in Austin was essentially the beach during the mid-Holocene.

Sea levels were lower in the Holocene than they are today. Unlikely to have oysters living around Austin during that time. Probably modern oysters that were dumped by someone after a meal.

[austinswamp]

11 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

Sea levels were lower in the Holocene than they are today. Unlikely to have oysters living around Austin during that time. Probably modern oysters that were dumped by someone after a meal.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/E-Gabriela-Gutierrez/publication/372695673_Fluvial_response_to_Late_Pleistocene-Holocene_climate_change_in_the_Colorado_River_drainage_central_Texas_USA/links/64c66bf6545060019e3ec94b/Fluvial-response-to-Late-Pleistocene-Holocene-climate-change-in-the-Colorado-River-drainage-central-Texas-USA.pdf?origin=publication_detail&_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6Il9kaXJlY3QiLCJwYWdlIjoicHVibGljYXRpb25Eb3dubG9hZCIsInByZXZpb3VzUGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIn19

[Balance]

I believe current sea level is the highest of the Holocene, right? 
 

About 125k years ago was the last really high sea level point. So that’s Pleistocene age. 20k -25k years ago was the lowest sea level of recent. Since then it’s been on its journey to where it is now. 
 

Jp
 

 

[ClearLake]

2 hours ago, austinswamp said:

just finished reading about how the Colorado river in Austin was essentially the beach during the mid-Holocene.

I’ve read the article that you linked and nowhere in it do I see anything about the beach (if you mean the land/ocean interface) being near Austin. The entire article is about fluvial terraces, which are formed as the river erodes or rises to different levels. Fluvial terraces are a river feature, not an ocean or beach feature. Others have already indicted sea level maximums since the Pleistocene, and they are not near Austin. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by ClearLake

[austinswamp]

25 minutes ago, Balance said:

I believe current sea level is the highest of the Holocene, right? 
 

About 125k years ago was the last really high sea level point. So that’s Pleistocene age. 20k -25k years ago was the lowest sea level of recent. Since then it’s been on its journey to where it is now. 
 

Jp
 

 

This article claims during the late Pleistocene the Colorado river was fed by the Rocky Mountains and the shoreline was further out. During the glacial-interglacial transition there were times where marine waters made way into central tx coastal plains. Eventually, Colorado river became an underfit stream like it is today.

[austinswamp]

5 minutes ago, ClearLake said:

I’ve read the article that you linked and nowhere in it do I see anything about the beach (if you mean the land/ocean interface) being near Austin. The entire article is about fluvial terraces, which are formed as the river erodes or rises to different levels. Fluvial terraces are a river feature, not an ocean or beach feature. Others have already indicted sea level maximums since the Pleistocene, and they not near Austin. 

Ah it’s very likely I may have misinterpreted some language in the article. Thanks