Washington State Palm Fronds

[Miatria]

I'm heading north of Seattle, Washington next week. Does anyone have locations to share where I can collect some small palm frond fossils?

[jpc]

Do palm fronds come in "small" size?

[RJB]

Only palm fronds I know of come from the Green River Formation and complete ones are about $20,000.

RB

[Ptychodus04]

I have some palm bits that I collected back in the 80's from the Chuckanut Formation near Bellingham, WA. There was a rock slide on Chuckanut Drive that provided us with tons (literally) of plant bearing material. The palm pieces I have are truly "small size" as they are broken bits!

I do remember finding a circa 1,000 pound boulder with a huge pristine palm frond on it. My dad had quite a time convincing me that we couldn't get it home in the back of our Mustang! The site did provide bunches of complete specimens of other flora though.

[Auspex]

I have some palm bits that I collected back in the 80's from the Chuckanut Formation near Bellingham, WA. There was a rock slide on Chuckanut Drive that provided us with tons (literally) of plant bearing material. The palm pieces I have are truly "small size" as they are broken bits!

I do remember finding a circa 1,000 pound boulder with a huge pristine palm frond on it. My dad had quite a time convincing me that we couldn't get it home in the back of our Mustang! The site did provide bunches of complete specimens of other flora though.

Is that the slide that revealed the Diatryma tracks? On Racehorse Creek?

[Fossildude19]

Chas,

I don't think so - Ptychodus mentioned finding them in the 80's, where as the Racehorse Creek landslide happened in January 2009.

Very interesting articles about the print, though. Thanks for making me look it up.

Regards,

[Ptychodus04]

Is that the slide that revealed the Diatryma tracks? On Racehorse Creek?

I had to dig WAY back in the memory files and I think I found the exposure on Hwy 11 (Chuckanut Drive) where I used to collect with my father ('83-'85). I was the ripe ole age of 7-9 at the time, so I had to go off some pretty sketchy memories of where we parked and what the place looked like.

It looks like the formation is probably still exposed but the rock slide is gone as I don't see anything lying beside the road as there used to be.

[Ridgehiker]

I do remember finding a circa 1,000 pound boulder with a huge pristine palm frond on it. My dad had quite a time convincing me that we couldn't get it home in the back of our Mustang! The site did provide bunches of complete specimens of other flora though.

Ha...we could start a thread with such episodes. I've seen some incredible specimens on slabs of rock that would need the resources of a mining operation to get home. Not sure if it was a positive to find them or not...still think 'if only'.

[Ptychodus04]

Ha...we could start a thread with such episodes. I've seen some incredible specimens on slabs of rock that would need the resources of a mining operation to get home. Not sure if it was a positive to find them or not...still think 'if only'.

Ain't it the truth!

[erose]

Ain't it the truth!

I've more than often wished I had a better camera with me when encountering both the "too big" and "too crumbly" specimen in the field.

[Miatria]

I guess I should have said "fragments" instead of "small", lol, but you all seemed to understand my meaning. Thanks for the map; I'll let everyone know what I find (notice the positive use of "what" as opposed to "if").

I was at the Blue Moon quarry in June and saw some of the owners full palm fronds. Very, very nice! It was a lot of fun splitting "books" for a few hours and so exciting to find something inside but my inexperience cause me to be a little heavy handed with the hammer and chisel (broken knightia, sigh...). Hopefully I'll make it back there some day to try again.

[Miatria]

I have some palm bits that I collected back in the 80's from the Chuckanut Formation near Bellingham, WA. There was a rock slide on Chuckanut Drive that provided us with tons (literally) of plant bearing material. The palm pieces I have are truly "small size" as they are broken bits.

I scouted the area on Chukanut Dr. and while I didn't find palm fronds, I found a great selection of leaves and fir needles in less than 2 hours.

[Miatria]

Many thanks to Ptychodus04 for the info! :-)

The next day, I followed directions from a book to another Washington state palm frond site. So interesting and so much fun! Here's a pic of one of the pieces I collected.

[Ptychodus04]

Awesome! I'm glad the Chuckanut Drive site paid off for you. I really enjoyed going there when I lived in Washington. Very nice finds.

[Fossildude19]

Nice Finds!

Glad the forum was able to help you achieve your goal, and then some!

Thanks for showing us your results.

Regards,

[Miatria]

Now...how do I seal and preserve the shale fossils? They are very, very fragile.

And while I'm asking, how do I seal and preserve my Wyoming Green River fish fossils?

[Wrangellian]

Now...how do I seal and preserve the shale fossils? They are very, very fragile.

And while I'm asking, how do I seal and preserve my Wyoming Green River fish fossils?

Why do you need to seal/preserve them? Unless you're leaving them out in the weather (I hope not!) then you shouldn't have to do anything with these. If anything, broken pieces should be glued back together, and if there are cracks evident that you think will come apart with the slightest handling, get some type of glue (types discussed elsewhere on the Forum) that will seep into them, but I would keep all forms of glue or finish away from the fossil surfaces themselves.

Nice haul, btw! I'm right across the Strait of Georgia from that area and I am tempted to look into that site if I am ever in the vicinity again.

[Ptychodus04]

Why do you need to seal/preserve them? Unless you're leaving them out in the weather (I hope not!) then you shouldn't have to do anything with these. If anything, broken pieces should be glued back together, and if there are cracks evident that you think will come apart with the slightest handling, get some type of glue (types discussed elsewhere on the Forum) that will seep into them, but I would keep all forms of glue or finish away from the fossil surfaces themselves.

Nice haul, btw! I'm right across the Strait of Georgia from that area and I am tempted to look into that site if I am ever in the vicinity again.

Some of the leaves in the Chuckanut Fm. are preserved as a carbon film. Looking at them too hard seems to make them breakdown. I've used a dropper to apply a dilute PVA solution to these fragile specimens with good results.

[Miatria]

Thanks for the tip, Ptychodus04.

Wrangellian, the fossils I asked about preserving are really fragile. The Wyoming Green River fossils I worry about in my ultra humid Florida weather. Thanks all!

[Wrangellian]

OK. The ones in the pics above don't look too fragile, so I had to ask, but if you have any that are, go with Kris' recommendation above. There are other threads dealing with the glue/preservative issue too, that you could check out. I have not experience with Butvar, Paraloid, Vinac, etc, but these are the things people usually recommend and for reasons that make more sense than white glue or superglue. Make sure it's a thin solution and gives a matte finish, whatever you do.