Jayray Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Howdy Folks, Well since I could not go meteorite hunting with those going to Franconia, I decided to take the kids and brave the wind, since the rain stopped, to look for fossils in the local area. I went to an area just on the city limits if Las Vegas and hunted in some Pre-Cambrian shale. We couldn't find any trilobites or anything else really cool but did find some past plant life. Mainly ferns,but still cool nonetheless. Here are a few pics. Enjoy, Jason. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick in Havasu Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Great pics Jason. I'd really like to find some of those. How old are they?Patrick..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Au Seeker Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Jayray, Those are really GREAT!! Man now that is what I would call a "Rock Garden"!! :whoope: Skip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayray Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Patrick, according to the time period somewhere are 542 million years old. But just a swag. They are actaully imprints and not fossilized which would be way cooler. The real material has been gone for some time,but left a cool imprint in the shale. We dug around for a few hours, only to find these on the way back to the truck. It was a fun time with the kids, and that's what counts.Skip, for sure. I wish I could have found a few other fossils to go with the garden. Jason ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfinger Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi Jayray- Really nice finds. Didn't know Las Vegas even had any Pre-Cambrian rocks in that area. :hmmmmm: I learn something everyday. No doubt those are fossil imprints. But one time at a local club rock show, we had a guy selling dendrites as fossils. Amazing how they look so similar. :shrug: http://minerals.caltech.edu/FILES/DENDRITE/Index.htmlSteve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Very nice finds and a good day out. Rain all day yesterday here and looking that way again today, this morning anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnno Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 G'Day JaysonSounds like you had a fun day. But I have to agree with Goldfinger, they appear dendritic in appearance. But a nice find regardlessCheersJohnno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayray Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Steve and Johnno, well I guess I was the one to learn something. They sure had me fooled thinking it was a fossil . But I would have to say it does look like those Manganese Dendrites. That would explain a lot, since there was a lot of iron-rich red layers of soil in the area we were in. There was a lot of shale deposits too, whic we looked at but didn't have a good chisel or rock hammer. Thanks for the input... and ID. Jason ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcache Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Interesting "look a likes" to fossil ferns. I found a bunch at a nearby mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnno Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 G'Day JasonDon't feel bad, back in my early days when I was knee high to a grasshopper, I was collecting fossils at a frenzied rate. I came across a great diversity of fossilized shells that you don't see these days and then I came across what I thought was fossilized ferns. I was beside myself. No person in their right mind would try to convince me that they weren't fossilized ferns, but as time went on, I realized they were dendrites.But they are a very fascinating thing and very convincing at show and tell. But I'm waiting for you to post the next find of a T-Rex. With your determination, it's not far away.Cheers mateJohnnoP.S. Keep on collecting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfinger Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Steve and Johnno, well I guess I was the one to learn something. They sure had me fooled thinking it was a fossil . But I would have to say it does look like those Manganese Dendrites. That would explain a lot, since there was a lot of iron-rich red layers of soil in the area we were in. There was a lot of shale deposits too, whic we looked at but didn't have a good chisel or rock hammer. Thanks for the input... and ID. Jason ;)Hi Jason-I really thought they were fern fossils also since you mentioned the pre cambrian shale but after looking at them closer, I think those are probably the dreaded dendrites. I can certainly relate to Johnno about his childhood exploits as something similar happened to me also. So it is a learning experience.No doubt there's fossils in Nevada someplace. I would bet if contacted the geology dept at a local university, they might know of some fossil hotspots around where you live where you can collect. Maybe you'll find a new species or something. ;) Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayray Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Steve, the area I was in actually has fossils there (The Great Unconformity in Las Vegas), but I guess they are minimal. Trilobites are supposed to be there too, but not in complete pieces. The shale we looked at was looking good, but it was a bit much for my 7 yrs. to handle the wind and the digging on a slope. We had fun and even though they are not ferns, they still are pretty cool to look at. Jason ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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