GMS Field Trip October 2024

GMS Field Trip
Jasper, Agate, Fossils, etc. in Alabama
Saturday, October 26, 2024

This location has become a favorite amongst GMS members for its variety. Mountainous piles of gravel contain agates, colorful jaspers, oolitic jaspers, curious concretions, and fossils including trilobites and petrified wood. Charles always marvels how we always find something new every time we are there, so he challenged us that morning to keep the streak going.

After a quick group photo, everyone dived into the piles, and what piles they were! There was a lot more gravel to peruse than the last time we were there, including a lot of larger material to look through. As always, the gravel did not disappoint! Among the finds of the day were several nice samples of the usual items, plus a superb specimen of stromatolite, and the new thing – a nice little blastoid calyx!

Blastoids are an extinct type of stemmed echinoderm, similar to crinoids. We have seen crinoid stem fossils at this location before, but this was our first blastoid. I must say I was surprised and excited to find the little guy. I was chasing a colorful bug for a photo, and after I finally managed to get a shot of the green and pink shield bug baby, I glanced down and saw a roundish little rock. At first, I thought it might be deer poop and I almost dismissed it, but I decided to pick it up and have a look. It was dirty and a bit hard to see, but it definitely looked like a blastoid. I showed it to Jason Leatherwood right away. He confirmed the ID and called Aaron Leatherwood over. Aaron texted Cam Muskelly with some pictures and a video. Cam also confirmed the ID and helped us place the age as Lower Carboniferous, i.e., Mississippian (358.9 to 323.2 million years ago).

It was a wonderful day for playing in the gravel. Everyone found some fun specimens and we were all eager to get them home to clean them up. Some jaspers and agates are destined for cutting and polishing, while others will become specimens along with the fossils, concretions, and other interesting rocks members found. We always leave looking forward to our next trip there!

Many thanks to quarry personnel who take time from their busy schedules to welcome us and keep us safe. We can’t thank them enough for the opportunity to collect there. Thank you to Jason, Aaron, Nedra, and Nathan for helping Charles and me to manage the group. Not only did they help us make sure everyone was safe, but they also helped with ID and explained what we were seeing. And, as always, thanks to Charles Carter for arranging another great trip!

Lori Carter on behalf of Charles Carter
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