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Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:24 pm
by fortyshooter
Shortly after purchasing my range property in 2016 I was cleaning up the area of tall weeds and noticed an old wooden pallet laying in the weeds.
Looking closer it was covering a large 30 inch diameter hole which had water in it about 3 ft. down.
Got my tape measure and started reeling it out and found the hole was 16 ft. deep...good thing I didn't fall in!
Anyway I also noticed the good sized pile of white/grey clayish dirt next to the hole and while poking around discover several large shells
which appeared to be very old. The dirt, pictured to upper left of hole, was full of shell bits and pieces. Somebody at some time tried to dig a well I suppose and must have used a machine to do it given the size of the hole. Later I filled it in with pea gravel and dirt on top after setting up a 4 inch casing and turning it into a shallow well 15 ft. deep.
Doing some research I discovered this area of the State was an ancient sea maybe millions of years ago possibly.
The shells appear to be large fossil scallop shells which you can sometimes find along the bay and river basins.
Very interesting to find them under your land!
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:30 pm
by fortyshooter
Picture of hole turned into well and there is the ancient pile of dirt with many many shells imbedded.
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:37 pm
by Mistered
That is very cool!
I am a 'shirttail', amateur paleontologist and appreciate this kind of stuff!
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:39 pm
by fortyshooter
Mistered wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:37 pm
That is very cool!
I am a 'shirttail', amature paleontologist and appreciate this kind of stuff!
Is there a way to date these shells or is that way to expensive? What else could you tell me about these?
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 10:16 pm
by RanchRoper
Awesome!
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 10:17 pm
by RanchRoper
fortyshooter wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:39 pm
Mistered wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:37 pm
That is very cool!
I am a 'shirttail', amature paleontologist and appreciate this kind of stuff!
Is there a way to date these shells or is that way to expensive? What else could you tell me about these?
Try one of those dating websites....LavaLife?
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 10:42 pm
by Mags
.
So cool! Love stories of digging up ancient stuff. Nice job on the capping too.
Similar situation here in the TV, which was once a kind of fresh water lake or bay before it was silted up by the ice age Missoula floods. Previous owner had a well drilled at the side of the house. It's a little over a 100ft deep. Told me at the time we bought the place the well water wasn't potable because of the shells. Several around the yard left over from the drilling about silver dollar size.
fortyshooter wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:24 pm
... Doing some research I discovered this area of the State was an ancient sea maybe millions of years ago possibly.
The shells appear to be large fossil scallop shells which you can sometimes find along the bay and river basins.
Very interesting to find them under your land!
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:34 am
by clovishound
fortyshooter wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:39 pm
Mistered wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:37 pm
That is very cool!
I am a 'shirttail', amature paleontologist and appreciate this kind of stuff!
Is there a way to date these shells or is that way to expensive? What else could you tell me about these?
They can sometimes be dated by stratigraphy, ie, what geologic level they were found in. Someone who really knew their ancient bivalves might be able to give an approximate age, based on species. Potassium 40 can be tested and give an absolute date, but no idea how expensive that would be.
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 5:25 am
by Mistered
Are the shells fossilized or are they still in their calcium state?
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 8:41 am
by dasmoeturhead
That's cool.
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 8:51 am
by fortyshooter
Mistered wrote: ↑Mon Mar 09, 2020 5:25 am
Are the shells fossilized or are they still in their calcium state?
They look to be in calcium form with some a darker grey color. What is interesting is the depth they were supposedly found was only in 12-16 ft.
They are in the top layers of that dirt pile which was last to come out the hole. The soil in that pile is a sticky white type clay mix when wet and
is mostly made up of crushed shell material mixed in.
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:19 am
by Mistered
Do you have a university nearby?
If so maybe they have a geological/paleontology department and might be interested in them and possibly provide you some information on their history.
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:36 am
by Rifletom
That is a pretty interesting find there forty. Nice work on taking care of the hole and pump install. Mistered has a good idea regarding a local university.
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 10:18 am
by fortyshooter
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 10:44 am
by JEBar
very nice find .... they would make a great display
Re: Ancient scallop fossils found in well dirt....
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 11:30 am
by CT_Shooter
Looks like a match. Awesome discovery. Congratulations on the shells and the restored well. Great work.