But fossils should be easy to The first gastropod after the Strobeus may me Phymatopleura nodoasa and the next one probably one of the Pseudozygopleura species. These deposits were laid down about as close to 300 million years ago as we can reliably estimate, Williams said. Parshley said he would like to return to the fossil park someday and find the rest, of the primitive shark remains. I haven't hunted up there in a couple of years. Today, you can dig up the remains of the plants and animals that lived there. All Rights Reserved.. possibly ever," said Beth Watson, executive director of the Mineral Explore Downtown Mineral Wells, with cute shops like, Rent A Boat for a Fun Day out on Joe Pool Lake, Grand Prairie. Inside the concretion showing what may be productid brachiopod spines. The city had no idea. 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Copyright 2022 The Dallas Morning News. Exterior of a concretion. It has a greater diversity of fossils although some very different ones. Wooden pathways run through this rocky landscape, which legend says was created when a dwarven king pulled down his own castle to stop raiding giants. Mineral Wells, TX 76067. The Dallas Paleontological Society has a number of links to Pennsylvanian fossils. Good example of 2 or more fossils in one collection from Mineral Wells Fossil Park. New fossil found at MSU's Dalquest site provides clarity to family history, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. says, because water erodes the soil. This is a great site, and kudos (and THANKS) to the Dallas Palaeontological Society, Mineral Wells Parks and Recreation Departmentand all others who helped make this great parkpossible. can "look and look and look" and still end up disappointed. At the free event, there will be members of the Dallas Paleontological Society on site, fossil displays, hands-on displays and history lessons about the park. Such an amazing variety of inverts at one place!!! It would have been less out of my way a bit, but no regrets. Join the discussion on our new social platform Texjas.com! Learn More. A popular place to pick up prehistoric coral fossils from the time when Michigan was an ocean. The next one is Shansiella carbonaria. " said Higginbotham, who is with the Dallas Paleontological Society Btw, is this an artificial outcroup, something like a former quarry? For an excellent book on fossils from this site and several other North Texas sites (including Jacksboro)buy: "Color Guide to Pennsylvanian Fossils of North Texas" byMcKinzie and McLeod. Theres just no shade, and nothing for them to do. In Paradise Cemetery resides a mysterious headstone with a strange inscription. Scale is in mm throughout. If you like that site I think youd really like the Lost Creek Dam site. Btw, is this an artificial outcroup, something like a former quarry? Very neat finds, and awesome presentation. to take artifacts from state or national parks, but because Mineral Sign up for a new account in our community. The Mineral Wells Fossil Park, located outside of Mineral Wells, offers visitors a unique fossil hunting and collecting experience. Wells and suggested that about 8 acres be kept as an educational It is illegal I dont know if any of these links willhelp with ID, but they may. Visit early during the summer months, as there is absolutely NO SHADE! Offer subject to change without notice. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'texashillcountry_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_4',131,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-texashillcountry_com-medrectangle-3-0')}; Visitors Can Find Crinoids, Echinoids and Brachiopods (among others), if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'texashillcountry_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_5',198,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-texashillcountry_com-medrectangle-4-0')};Photo: Flickr/Penny Higgins. theYear=now.getYear() Thanks! I was thinking it seemed Plattsburg-y. The park as it exists today is a result of 20 years of erosion of the old City of Mineral Wells landfills borrow pit, which was closed in the early 1990s. document.write(theYear) The one you labeled Cleiothyridina may be right but the apical angle (wrong term?) The beauty of the Mineral Wells Fossil Park is that admission is free and visitors can. I love ALL of it!!! There are now covered picnic tables, so pack a lunch. Recently, a lucky visitor to the Mineral Wells Fossil Park found a rare discovery from that era. Wells put a large plot of land up for sale. It is $60. Each handful of gravel is full of fossils more than 300 million years old. More than 350 million years ago, western New York was covered in a vast sea. On this visit, we had brought our dogs, and while the signs at the park do not discourage pets, our pups were pretty miserable. The bridge continues the legacy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policy. Visitors to the newly opened Mineral Wells Fossil Park can find Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. Rewilding: Tracking Wolves in the Forests of Sweden, Iceland in Summer: Journey Through a Fabled Land, Small Wonders and Good Eats Along Spain's Orange Blossom Coast, The AO Challenge: A Game of Curious Missions, Into the Cheese Vaults: Touring Jasper Hill Farm's Cheese Cellars, The Art of Indian Pickling w/ Chitra Agrawal, Baking Rainbow Challah Bread w/ Nomad Bakery, Artful Stitches & Fixes: Visible Mending With Erin Eggenburg, A Brief History of Scent With Saskia Wilson-Brown, Define & Refine: Shaping Your Collection With Alexis Hyde, All the Small Things: Crafting a Miniature Abandoned Room With Amanda Kelly, Cartooning Folklore & Family History With Zawadi Nol, Inside the Egg Mayo Protection Association, The 6,000-Year Story of the Negev Desert Is Etched in Stone, Mineral Wells Fossil Park/Used with permission, http://texasfortstrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/mineral-wells-fossil-park, http://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2010-05-14/1028266/, http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2010/08/04/Visitors-hunt-for-history-at-Mineral-3991, https://dps.wildapricot.org/Mineral-Wells-Fossil-Park. The Dallas Paleontological Society has successfully secured a one of a kind collecting locality in Texas: TheMineral Wells Fossil Park. One dollar from every fossil collector in Texas, let alone the United States will make this a premium fossil collecting site. Exxon Mobile Science Day at the Dallas Zoo 2016, Greek and Latin Root Words Related to Paleonotology, The Fossil Project Mini Conference Wrap Up. Thank you, Bob. While crinoids look like plants, they are actually marine animals. All rights reserved. Congrats and thanks for sharing. Shark bodies, ancient and modern, are made up of cartilage instead of bones. public park. It is actually where they removed all the rock and dirt to make the dam. https://www.dallaspaleo.org/Jacksboro-Study-Group. "Archaeocidaris" echinoid test plate (I think the name has changed, but this will have to do for now ). The paleontologist added that while Parshleys fossil find was just the root, it means there is always the chance someone could find the rest of the ancient sharks tooth. While crinoids may look like weird plants, they are actually animals. I tend to find lots of the same common fossils there. Coming up is the 11th annual Crazy Fossil Dig 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 16. Use it as a quick resource to find activities in different Texas towns! To learn more about the Mineral Wells Fossil Park and to plan your visit, check out their website for more information and directions to the park. The event is held in conjunction with National Earth Science Week, which is Oct. 10-16. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. The Mineral Wells Fossil Park is a reality for the families and children of Texas and for everyone in the world. The site isnt the dam. Modern-day invertebrates include butterflies, crabs, and spiders. We had stopped in Mineral Wells for a bag of cheeseburgers from Woodys, which is only operating a walk up window (I try to avoid going inside any place right now). North Texas paleontologist Bob Williams confirmed Parshleys find. July 7, 2018 in Fossil Hunting Trips. Looks like you had a very productive trip! Weve walked, hiked, and played as many outside games as a family of five can play. Higginbotham calls fossil-hunting "silly and old-school fun. Franz Bernhard, Btw, is this an artificial outcroup, something like a former quarry? Could that one be a scaphopod? are the stalks of crinoids (sea lilies). It also seems a lot bigger to me. I collected in four states and covered 6 geologic time periods. Decaying military base deactivated in the 70s is now visited by urban explorers and military enthusiasts. If I had known about places there, I might have gone there instead. million years ago and had been a destination of fossil enthusiasts Years of rain, runoff, and wind have uncovered a trove of ancient seabed fossils, making the pit perfect hunting grounds for fossil enthusiasts and professional paleontologists, as well as gem and mineral groups and societies across the southern U.S. What can you expect to find? old borrow pit for the city landfill. I just got this in the mail. That fossil turned out to be from the largest-known shark ever found in the world from the Paleozoic era. Photo: Flickr/Makuahine Pai Kiiif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'texashillcountry_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_2',154,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-texashillcountry_com-large-leaderboard-2-0')}; This is a fairly primitive site, so be sure to bring a lot of water with you. Lost Creek you have to drive pretty far off the beaten path. Very nice report and photo journal. All rights reserved. See. Could Austin surpass D-FW as Texas top luxury home market? Paleontology Section, Houston Gem and Mineral Society, Texas Paleontology Series, Publication Number 4: 242 pages with illustrations. We meet once a month on the second Wednesday evening of the month at Brookhaven College, Building H. If you have a question, if you have a fossil that you cannot identify, or need a site investigation, contact the Fossil Bureau of Investigation for help. Jacksboro to the north is good also. You are correct about the productid spines but I don't know how to tell on the echinoid spine. @Bullsnake, @Nimravis, @Raggedy Man, @Monica, @doushantuo, @caldigger, @Fruitbat, @ynot, @Echinoid, @FranzBernhard, @RyanNREMTP. theYear=theYear+1900 Then you have to walk a half mile it so then cross a fenceto get to the site. No purchase necessary. Only a few such parks exist in the United States. Our Quarantine Life has mainly consisted of spending as much time outside as possible, as alone as possible. The park has an abundance of very collectable Pennsylvanian Age fossils. Visitors hunt for history at Mineral Wells Fossil Park, Senators push for bipartisan support of bill codifying same-sex, interracial marriage, Texas Sens. The fossil park in Mineral Wells is a sandy pit that is covered with a plethora of small fossils including crinoids (sea lilies), trilobites, echinoids (urchins), brachiopods, pelecypods (clams and oysters), bryozoans, corals, trilobites (arthropods), plants and every once in a while, even remnants of prehistoric sharks. Williams invited future visitors to the park to research what this genus of sharks teeth look like so they could possibly make a discovery of their own. My daughter likes to make necklaces and bracelets from them. Some of the finds from our latest visit to the Mineral Wells Fossil Park. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. open from 8 a.m. until dusk Friday through Monday, and admission is It gets traffic, but I think probably less than Mineral Wells. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Now, its one of the few parks in the nation where you can remove artifacts from the site and take fossils home with you. For a Guide to the Mineral Wells Fossil Park, written by Lisa Moran Click Here. You can expect to find paleontological treasures from creatures like corals, urchins, clams, oysters, trilobites, sharks, and miscellaneous plants. fossils. We also run the premiere real-estate site in the hill country at HillCountryRealestate.com. free. The brachiopods at this site are extremely fragile, and to get really good ones, I had to do some gluing and consolidation on site. for years. Mineral Wells earned its name from the high mineral content of the spring water found here. I have never found even a fragment of a trilobite there. known to many as Indian beads because of their shape. Visitors can keep any fossils they find at the park. Its open to everyone and admission is free. Texas Pennsylvanian Brachiopods, 1990. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. This report is on the Mineral Wells Fossil Park. Apologies, my text editor on my phone does not have ITALICS for the scientific names. On my Social Distancing gauge, its a perfect place to be outside but away from just about everyone. Old as in fossils and paleontology. The beauty of the Mineral Wells Fossil Park is that admission is free and visitors can take home whatever they find. Copyright 2008 - Copyright 1996-2020, Dallas Paleontological Society. There are likely dozens of species found here, each with their own design and ornamentation. The park is primitive, with only a parking lot, portable The tiny slivers might be productid brachiopod spines. The fossils usually found in the Fossil Park are from the Pennsylvanian Age, which is estimated to be about 320 286 million years ago and characterized in North Central Texas as a time when the area was covered by a shallow sea, thus most of the fossils found here are aquatic in nature. Park visitors can use small tools to dig, no longer than from your fingertip to your elbow. We were the only ones there that day.. The idea for the park came in 2008, when the city of Mineral Thanks! Yes, this is a former "borrow pit" turned into a great place to collect Pennsylvanian marine fossils. For more information about the park and directions, go to https://www.mineralwellsfossilpark.com/. The area was under water 300 The parks treasures, three hundred million year old fossils from what geologists refer to as the Pennsylvanian Period, have been exposed as a result of erosion in the citys landfill gravel pit, closed for use in the 1990s. "Even if you don't have a scientific background, you can go out The best time for fossil hunting is following storms or rain. At first, Mineral Wells Fossil Park seems to be only a large pit of rocks. Cruz, Cornyn target Biden policies after trip to U.S.-Mexico border, My son was a coward, Uvalde shooters mom says while apologizing to victims family, Dallas-Fort Worth could see some rain, heat relief Thursday. I think it may have been the first time I've collected marine fossils from the Pennsylvanian, so each find was a new treasure for me. The park is That's all folks. can trigger something new: a passion for science in today's kids. Texas Hill Country. The park is free and open to the public for collecting Friday through Monday, 8 AM to dusk. Texas Hill Country Facebook page is growing by over 1,000 fans per Members of the Dallas Paleontological Society approached Mineral But Hoover million years old," said Donnie Hoover, Mineral Wells' parks and What beautiful (if fragile) preservation!!! These fossils have been dated to be just over 300 million years old. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. These fossils have been dated to be just over 300 million years old. Mineral Wells Fossil Park2375 Indian Creek Road Mineral Wells you just drive up to and get out and walk out into the quarry. Take plenty of water, sunscreen and bug spray, just in case. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Having Fun in the Texas Sun with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. restroom and a few signs for information and safety. Dig a bit deeper, and youll find the park contains a fossil formation from an ancient seabed. magnificent,great report,even greater fossils. Williams added that most fossils in Texas are from the Pennsylvanian sub-period, so a shark fossil is an unusual find. 11th annual Crazy Fossil Dig set for Oct. 16. Knee pads or patches are also recommended for crawling around. The Mineral Wells Fossil Park allows, fossil enthusiasts, paleontologists and students an excellent opportunity to see and collect well preserved , fossils with ease and abundance. find anytime. it's just cool.". Having Fun in the Texas Sun, 2020. Millions of years ago, the North Texas area was covered by a vast ocean. We hate spam too, we'll never share your email address. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). I also like this digital atlas of Penn. Parshley contacted the Dallas Paleontological Society about the find and was told he, indeed, found what is likely the root of a primitive Petalodus tooth. Collecting the same amount in the Netherlands would probably take1018 years. The DPS will also accept checks either at regular meetings or by mail at: The DPS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You can also find Mineral Wells Fossil Park on Facebook. Thanks for sharing your report. Having Fun in the TEXAS Sun is on PINTEREST! The easiest way to help is to donate using the PayPal link at the top of the page. Greattrip report Tony and some great finds. Other fossilized animals include ancient oysters, clams, snails and the odd Trilobite, one of the earliest known groups of invertebrates. However, today fossilized corals seemed to be our biggest find! The fossil park is located northwest of Mineral Wells at 2375 Indian Creek Road, Mineral Wells, Texas, 76067, about two miles north of U.S. Highway 180 West. As I have everywhere we go, I prepared the kids that if its crowded, we will just come back, but when we arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, we were the only ones there! Very impressive fauna, congratulations to your finds! According to these charts, it correlates with the Swope Formation: It's interesting how the fossils found at both locations are so similar in some ways, and quite different in others. The best time to hunt for fossils is after a rain, Higginbotham Roughly eight acres, the park was formerly part of a gravel pit at the old landfill. While crinoids may look like weird plants, they are actually animals. You will find fossils, they can be found absolutely everywhere you look in the park. Also be sure to bring a bag for the fossils, sunscreen, and plenty of water! During the hot summer months visiting in the early morning and evenings is highly recommended. I wish there were more open sites like this in the West. Great finds and great photos. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. estimates that about 50 to 100 people visit per week. Glad you had a great time. Congrats!!! Some even have spikes. Thanks for looking and HH. I was way off! An inland sea attached to what we now call the Pacific Ocean reached into this area at that time, so any sea creature from that time could be found there. All Rights Reserved. Cartilage does not preserve likes bones do, so usually the only remnants of sharks are their teeth and sometimes fins. Currently open daily, the park is FREE and you can keep any fossil you find! Wells Chamber of Commerce. They only have a port-a-potty, do with that information what you will. There is still plenty of improvements such ADA accessibility, and of course maintenance. Although I had never been to Mineral Wells before, and only for two hours, I am fairly confident I got rather lucky with this beautiful Neospirifer. On August 27, Loss Angeles resident Jeff Parshley came to the park as part of a 42-day recreational-vehicle journey. seems too acute and it may be Condrathyris perplexa even though it doesn't appear to be on the fauna list for the site. A myriad of ancient fossils from the Pennsylvanian Period awaits those willing to get their hands a bit dirty. 2022 www.timesrecordnews.com. All rights reserved. | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Return Policy, Mineral Wells Fossil Park, located in Mineral Wells, Texas (west of Fort Worth) is a very unique park. Since the Mineral Wells Fossil Park opened in 2010, my kids have enjoyed visits to hunt for fossils! places to stay, tourism, events, lodging, and we feature Texas Hill Country info years ago. Get email alerts on breaking news stories as soon as they happen. The park is a haven for paleontologists and fossil collectors. With the impending closure of the Ladonia Fossil Park on the Sulphur River in NE Texas, the Mineral Wells Fossil Park is the only FREE fossil park in the state, and one of only a few free fossil parks in the country! now = new Date Looks like You had fun and found some good pieces for the collection. And visitors can take home what they find at the park. 2022 Atlas Obscura. The DPS is a group of professional and amateur paleontologists that want to exchange information, interact, and continue their education in paleontology. Sharks were at the top of the food chain so were fewer in number than other creatures, but their teeth are sometimes found, Williams said. Part of the land was an and a driving force behind the park. Most of the fossils are small, about half the size of a dime, The Dallas Paleontological Society would like to thank the following for helping us establish this collecting site: Lance Howerton, City Manager, Beth Watson, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, and Christina Childs, Tourism Director. of all manners. Take bags to hold your fossil finds, or I prefer Home Depot Aprons, the big pockets work very well! There are likely dozens of species found here, each with their own design and ornamentation. While my daughter has found shark teeth on occasion, we usually enjoy searching for the fossils of columns, a prehistoric plant that can be found in abundance at the park. I searched, but my researching skills are sad.