March 2023 Program Information
March 2023 Program
We enjoyed our presentation by Cindy on fossils. She had 3 tables full of samples, some that she had collected, and others that she bought or that were given to her. Cindy claimed she doesn't just love fossils, but that she is obsessed with them. She had carefully wrapped her samples individually in cloths and carried them in several 5 gallon buckets. (She brought "big ones", but not the bigger ones she has at home in her rock shop.) There was a box full of beautiful necklaces, earrings and pendants that she personally made from fossils.Cindy shared a PowerPoint with an overview of the formation and types of fossils. Around 99% of fossils are found in sedimentary rocks. She had photos of some of the types of fossils, and places she'd been, or places she'd like to go to collect them. In order to collect fossils, a person usually must be a member of a club, so she has joined several. Often, just exploring road cuts, streams, or cleared lots can result in fossils. For example, she had a 20" x 10" rectangle that had a 15" crinoid stem imprint that she found on a roadside in Bath County.
Cindy got "hooked" on fossils at the age of 8 when a lady gave her a fossil at a store. She has traveled all across the US to find treasures. Around 30 years ago, she took a road trip out west. She and a friend went to Florissant CO and found some tiny insect fossils in fragile shale. They found fish fossils in Kemmerer WY. She also had stromatolites from Herkimer, NY and marine fossils from Lebanon, PA. The Peace River in FL had stingray, bird and crocodile fossils. Fort Drum, FL yielded clam fossils with golden calcite crystals. The Gray Fossil Site in eastern TN is still an active site. It was discovered during construction of a new road, and has samples of sabertooths, horses, camels, tapirs, red pandas and wolverines. (I have found a few sharks' teeth on Venice Beach, FL as well.)
Virginia is also a great place to find fossils. The Shenandoah Valley has many marine organisms because it was underwater millions of years ago. Rockbridge county has skolithos, or worm burrows. These fossils, seen as parallel ridges in quartzite, are often seen in landscaping rocks at the entrance to various restaurants. Saltville has a wonderful museum of animals found in that area - mastodon, musk oxen, wooly mammoth and giant ground sloth. Martinsville is home to the Natural History Museum of VA. It is small, but has a plethora of samples and a working lab. A 5' long fossil of Petra, found deep in a cave in SW VA, is there. It is still being investigated, and whether it is a cheetah or lion is still being determined. Culpeper's Luck Stone Quarry has over 5000 dinosaur footprints of various species. (The Culpeper Museum has fossils and the history of the discovery.) Pipsico, on private land in Surry County, has plenty of clam, scallop and oyster shells. Chesapecten jeffersonius is our state fossil and can be sometimes collected along the James River in various locations. Cindy has not been to Westmoreland State Park, but I have collected sharks' teeth there. Virginia Fossil Collectors is a public Facebook page that has discussions and photos to view.
The Calvert Cliffs in MD can be accessed through the VA & MD Fossil Hunters group. Fish, mollusks, barnacles, whale bones, corals, megalodon fossils have been found there. They have a private Facebook page.
Whew!! What a wonderful trip and what a thrill to hold fossils as old as 2 billion years!! (stromatolites) Thank you, Cindy for helping us get smarter and enjoying our "oldies, but goodies" adventure. (Many of the sites Cindy talked about are now closed to the public, or need special permission to visit. Try doing a search on the web before going. Some specific fossils are protected, and may not be collected.)
Cindy’s presentation can be viewed here
Following this link will provide a Google Image Search of Fossils In Virginia for you to explore.
