Anyone Know If There Are Fossil In Nw North Dakota?

[Oh-Man]

Thanks.

Not sure if there's much up there but a bunch of glacial deposits.

Hells Creek is far down south from where I'll be.

OK actually less than 4 hours so easy for a Saturday trip.

[Auspex]

If you're all the way up on the Missouri Coteau (Kenmare area?), I don't think you'll have much luck with fossils. Possibly of no consolation to you, but there are seven Ntl. Wildlife Refuges clustered up there that offer some of the best birding in the U.S.

The North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt Ntl. Park is just south of Lake Sacajawea; fascinating badlands, but no collecting.

[Oh-Man]

If you're all the way up on the Missouri Coteau (Kenmare area?), I don't think you'll have much luck with fossils. Possibly of no consolation to you, but there are seven Ntl. Wildlife Refuges clustered up there that offer some of the best birding in the U.S.

The North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt Ntl. Park is just south of Lake Sacajawea; fascinating badlands, but no collecting.

Thanks - I'll definitely take my good camera. My parents are big into birding in their retirement and if I photo something they haven't seen it'll be a big hit with them.

But of course, as a Geologist, I like to look at the ground, too...

[Ramo]

PM Sent

[amour 25]

Look for Mammoth Mastodon and old big Bison and some big Ammoniods I have heard of.

Good luck.

[jpc]

Thanks.

Not sure if there's much up there but a bunch of glacial deposits.

Hells Creek is far down south from where I'll be.

OK actually less than 4 hours so easy for a Saturday trip.

SW NoDak has extensive very fossilferous hell Creek Fm. Yeah, I know you said it's a bit far, but if you can find a rancher who will let you collect, I guarantee you will find cool stuff. And yes, it is mostly in the very SW-ern corner. And if you need, I can come up and show you how to find that cool stuff... Many of those ranchers might want a trespass fee. Keep in mind that most big dinosaur bones are a serious prep project once you get home (as well as a serious=severaldays collecting project), but there is lots of smaller nice stuff to be found in the hell Creek. Lots.

As for another fun Saturday trip, there are good fossil museums in both Bowman and Dickinson. I bought a good book on geology of NoDak at one of those museums. How long will you be up there? A year or so? I used to have a contact up there, but I'm not sure if I can find his name and number.

And, yeah, some good birding in north central Nodak.

[Oh-Man]

SW NoDak has extensive very fossilferous hell Creek Fm. Yeah, I know you said it's a bit far, but if you can find a rancher who will let you collect, I guarantee you will find cool stuff. And yes, it is mostly in the very SW-ern corner. And if you need, I can come up and show you how to find that cool stuff... Many of those ranchers might want a trespass fee. Keep in mind that most big dinosaur bones are a serious prep project once you get home (as well as a serious=severaldays collecting project), but there is lots of smaller nice stuff to be found in the hell Creek. Lots.

As for another fun Saturday trip, there are good fossil museums in both Bowman and Dickinson. I bought a good book on geology of NoDak at one of those museums. How long will you be up there? A year or so? I used to have a contact up there, but I'm not sure if I can find his name and number.

And, yeah, some good birding in north central Nodak.

JPC - thanks!

I expected to be travelling up there from Texas off and on for the next several months. Probably about one week per month.

There's no way I would have time to commit to dino prep, but mammal and marine fossils are more my speed anyway!

You jogged my memory, too, and I think I have a friend with contacts up here.

Hopefully I'll have something to post in a month or so...

Thanks again!

[siteseer]

Oh-Man,

I recall reading that someone found some Cannonball Formation fossils (Mid-Late Paleocene) in the Bowman area. There are pubs about shark teeth and crabs from that by Alan Cvancara (I think I spelled his name correctly).

As for another fun Saturday trip, there are good fossil museums in both Bowman and Dickinson.

[jpc]

The crabs in the Paleocene Cannonball Fm. are in South cetral NoDak. I've never been there, but its on my paleo bucket list. As for the hell Creek, it might be owrth a weekend jaunt down there to do some door to dooring with ranchers. Ask if they would allow you to collect small bones on their place. tell them you are not interested in big dino bones.

A few clues I can give you. The hell Creek is overlaid by the Paleocene Fort Union Group in SW ND. And they look the same. If you are finding lots of petrified wood, head downhill until you pass the lowest coal layer. Then you are more likely in the Cretaceous. The Paleocene has non petrified wood fossils, but they are a challenge to find. If you are actually finding dino bones, you are in the Cretaecous, then start looking for smaller bones. They generally come in accumultions called microsites which can be hugely rewarding. Renenebr also, not all dino bones are big.

[jpc]

Oops I was gonna add a few pix to tempt you. The sacle bars show mm's. All these except the last photo are form the hell Ck Fm of ND.

Hadrosaur teeth are the most common dinosaur fossils out there.

These are baby ceratopsian teeth. (I'm pretty sure they are ceratopsians and not hadrosaurs).

This is a ungual (claw bone) from a hadrosaur hand.

Last but not lst this is the only oneof these I've ever found, a small dromeosaur claw. Yes, this is one of the highlights of my collection. Wicked cool.

And now for some non dinos form NoDak microsite. The only picture I could find is of a few ray teeth.

This last one is of Eocene crocodile scutes. Similar things canbe found in the hell Creek. The bottom onee is about two inches wide... a big scute for this area. The local cretaceous one are more sized like the upper scutes.

Y'oughta go find a ranch to poke around on.

Edited August 26, 2010 by jpc

[jpc]

Hey Oh-man... there's a great thread here http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/14989-getting-started-fossil-hunting-in-kansas/page__gopid__167134

that gives advice (good stuff) on approaching ranchers.

[Oh-Man]

JPC - thanks for all the advice!

[siteseer]

The ray teeth belong to Myledaphus bipartitus.

Oops I was gonna add a few pix to tempt you. The sacle bars show mm's. All these except the last photo are form the hell Ck Fm of ND.

Hadrosaur teeth are the most common dinosaur fossils out there.

These are baby ceratopsian teeth. (I'm pretty sure they are ceratopsians and not hadrosaurs).

This is a ungual (claw bone) from a hadrosaur hand.

Last but not lst this is the only oneof these I've ever found, a small dromeosaur claw. Yes, this is one of the highlights of my collection. Wicked cool.

And now for some non dinos form NoDak microsite. The only picture I could find is of a few ray teeth.

This last one is of Eocene crocodile scutes. Similar things canbe found in the hell Creek. The bottom onee is about two inches wide... a big scute for this area. The local cretaceous one are more sized like the upper scutes.

Y'oughta go find a ranch to poke around on.

[jpc]

The ray teeth belong to Myledaphus bipartitus.

I think I have that written down somewhere...

Thanks