Fossil Hunting In Alberta

[Wendywendy]

Hello everyone,

For my parents 36^th wedding anniversary I thought I would surprise them with a fossil hunting vacation as they are both avid fossil enthusiast. I would really like to plan a trip for them somewhere in Alberta or in Ontario but I’m not sure where to send them or how they should go about finding cool fossils. They are not the most competent outdoorsmen so day trips would probably be ideal. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Pumpkinhead]

In Alberta Drumheller comes to mind. I don't live there so I don't know much else about the geology. In ontario there's a lot of escarpment rock though much of which is perfect for fossil hunting. The two places I have the most experience with are around the Port Colborne/Welland area off of Lake Erie and the Manitoulin Island. I know a great quarry in the first one where I've found some nice Devonian fossils of the Dundee formation and know much of the Manitoulin area firsthand- there's some great sites there. Your parents might also enjoy a hike on Bruce Trail.

[FossilDAWG]

You cannot legally remove any fossils from Alberta, not even common things. People who live in Alberta can collect, and keep fossils in their home, but they remain the property of the Province and cannot be sold, traded, or in other ways taken out of the Province without a permit which is (I have been told) difficult to obtain. On the other hand the museum in Drumheller is classic, and the badlands are beautiful, though it would be challenging for people who are not in good condition. Perhaps you could contact the museum to get information about the permit, or opportunities to participate in museum digs.

Ontario is not burdened with such restrictive laws. You say your folks are avid collectors, but you don't mention if they collect themselves or only purchase fossils, or if they visit any sites themselves. Assuming they live in your area, Arkona is not far away and has an inexhaustible supply of Devonian brachiopods, corals, and occasional trilobites and crinoids. Some hiking would be required but it's not a major trek. Manitoulin Island is scenic and has good collecting (Upper Ordovician and Silurian) in places.

Pen Dixie in New York is just across the border, near Buffalo, and offers the best chance in the area to find complete trilobites. They will need passports to get into the US. For a real treat (a real expensive treat) you can pay to collect Oligocene mammals and other fossils from the White River Formation in the US. Here is a link to one such site, but do your homework as there are others and I assume price and quality vary. Also you could consider visiting one of the pay quarries near Kemmerer, Wyoming for Green River fish, as you assured of coming away with something nice.

Lots of options, it just depends on how much you want to spend.

Don

[Wendywendy]

Thanks for the awesome suggestions!

Wendy