Scottnokes2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) Hi everyone,I'm new to fossil collecting and I live in Chester Illinois. I live by these bluffs and picked up a bunch of chunks of this stuff which I'm not sure what it is,Could it be Shale. These bluffs are besides the Mississippi river. Before I started working on them, I just wanted to make sure it is something that may hide some fossils of which I know shale might. Thanks for any help anyone could guide me. Edited March 12, 2015 by ScottNokes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottnokes2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) This does seem to be very fragile and easily breaks and flakes Edited March 12, 2015 by ScottNokes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Looks and sounds like Shale to me. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvestersen Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 To me it looks like a laminated siltish two clayish sedimentary rock. If the stones split along planes of Weakness into thin sheets, it is shale, if not, it's a mudstone. Ye have found some pretty neat fossils in shale eg this shrimp Penaeus sp. from the Stolleklint Clay (Denmark), Early eocene "Ypresian" good hunting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 It is certainly a thinly-foliated sedimentary rock; shale being the most likely of several related types. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottnokes2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) It's splits along the layers and is very fragile. I just dint know if I'll be wasting my time with this stuff, but I thought it was Shale, but I'm a novice, so I dint know Edited March 12, 2015 by ScottNokes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottnokes2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) Hi everyone, this is one of the bigger pieces.it's one inch thick approximately Edited March 13, 2015 by ScottNokes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 it looks like a calcareous shale. there are shales with lots of fossils in them, and lots more without fossils. The New Albany shale is a good example in IN,KY,OH, 200-300' feet of almost empty shale. If you find any fossils in your shale there will probably be more. Good hunting! "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now