Jodie, Bryn, Sara
Welcome back to PaleoLab! This weekend we made a trek into the hills (and the desert) to find fish fossils. We met at 6:30 and collected our gear and water and headed out of state to an awesome location in Wyoming. Jodie and Sara had husbands in tow. Once we arrived at our quarry we were loosed on an amazing wall of sandstone that had settled in sediment layers which were easily pried loose with a rock hammer and a chisel.
Rick Hunter
In this image you can see an ash layer of orange at Rick's eye level. Not all, but the majority of fish found were near or below this layer.
The formation is one of the largest lacustrine (i.e., lake) sedimentary accumulations in the world, averages some 2,000 feet thick, and spans the period 40 to 50 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era. (Data credit http://orerockon.com)
The formation is one of the largest lacustrine (i.e., lake) sedimentary accumulations in the world, averages some 2,000 feet thick, and spans the period 40 to 50 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era. (Data credit http://orerockon.com)
Jodie: Six hours straight of dismantling a cliff, inch by inch, with a hammer and chisel and then breaking each piece into thin sheets with said chisel and hammer not only helps you find cool fossils, it turns your arm muscles into jelly. I've done my arm workout today.
Sara: We were blessed to be in a location where the sun creates a pocket of shade precisely where we were standing to excavate. The heat was not overly intense, but the direct rays could have made for devastating sun burns. You see, we were so involved in our fish finding, that it was easy to forget to drink water or apply sunscreen!
Bryn: Oh. Hello there little guy! I wonder who you belong to....
Bryn is our resident geologist and lab cohort. Nearly every rock that she lay eyes on managed to spark her excitement. It was amazing to have her with us.
Bryn, Sara, Rick
A crate of excavated Fish.
Justin and our tent headquarters.
Packed up and ready to roll out for dinner!
This little guy is amazing!
This is the head of a large fish, you can likely imagine a Pike and be close to shape and length.
You can almost imagine them swimming through the matrix.
This trip was an incredible experience and we are all very excited to return again soon!
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