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Post by nowyo on Aug 6, 2024 22:51:00 GMT -5
Just found this thread. We have a couple of chunks out in the yard from Wyoming. Cool subject.
Russ
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Aug 10, 2024 15:16:53 GMT -5
A month ago I went prowling around Wyoming trying to find a cool stromatolite specimen to bring home. This one weighs about 300 pounds and was hard for wife and me to lift into the truck. The center had disintegrated at some point leaving a void for orange crystals to fill it.  |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Aug 10, 2024 15:17:17 GMT -5
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Post by liveoak on Aug 10, 2024 16:27:40 GMT -5
WOW, Randy, that's truly amazing - a museum specimen.
But, you need a truck bed crane - no question.
Maybe your wife's birthday is coming up 
Patty
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Post by chris1956 on Aug 12, 2024 20:51:55 GMT -5
Well, this one doesn't weigh hundreds of pounds. Pretty small but I decided to add it because it was kind of unusual. I picked it because of the Petoskey material but decided not to polish out the bad spots because I was afraid the pattern would disapear. It is from Petoskey, Michigan. It actually has three fossils: Petoskey Stone (on right and bottom); small I think Charlevoix (favosites) stone on the left; and stromatolite on the top. Usually, the stromatolites you find around Petoskey are very soft and don't polish well. I thought the pattern on this one polished nicely but there isn't too much of it.  Thanks for taking a look, Chris |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Aug 13, 2024 7:03:19 GMT -5
chris1956 that's an amazing specimen. Who would have thought of such a mix!?
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Aug 13, 2024 7:07:35 GMT -5
Here's my latest find under a UV light.  |
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Post by 1dave on Sept 6, 2024 22:04:19 GMT -5
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wargrafix
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Post by wargrafix on Sept 7, 2024 6:16:30 GMT -5
At the end of Jurassic Time, The San Rafael Swell was pushed toward the southeast, and a lake was formed at it's base. It filled with stromatoliths. As they budded they died and were agatised. We call those specimens Grape agate as in this photo provided by Win .  Some of them look like Geodes with celestite crystals inside  Our SURC Rock Club visited the spot in 2013.   The Road there:  Aerial of the area. The red is bits of stromatolite.  Collecting area:    Some of my finds:     A stromatolite in Texas:  No lie, you would have to be rockhounding with me in case we come across the first one. I would be hesitant to pick it up. It looks creepy as hell. |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 21, 2024 9:06:27 GMT -5
Yesterday I made another pilgrimage to a Wyoming stromatolite deposit. Azure skies and 34 degrees at sun rise soon became 80 degrees with air so dry that it took a lot of water out of the lungs with every exhale. It was good to be back home where I grew up.  |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 21, 2024 9:08:25 GMT -5
I've been trying to hypothesize why so many around here are missing their cores   |
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Post by chris1956 on Sept 21, 2024 9:12:39 GMT -5
Could it be that as the colony grew, the older center part died and rotted away before the whole thing got fossilized?
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 21, 2024 9:16:22 GMT -5
When erosion uncovers these stromatolites they exfoliate layers from freeze-thaw cycles and after a few centuries (guessing the time lapse here) they become featureless fragments ready for earth to create something else from the material. This one is losing layers on top faster than lichens can colonize the surface.  |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 21, 2024 9:18:42 GMT -5
Could it be that as the colony grew, the older center part died and rotted away before the whole thing got fossilized? That's what I've been thinking too. It makes sense because I never find small ones that are hollow. |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 21, 2024 9:27:37 GMT -5
It's delightful that a few have the hollow centers lined with crystals.   |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 21, 2024 9:32:19 GMT -5
It's a surprise to stumble upon the occasional artifact out here. This was a sawn piece of lumber from perhaps a century ago.   |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 21, 2024 9:34:50 GMT -5
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 21, 2024 3:44:51 GMT -5
Found another one of my stromatolite fossils.  |
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RWA3006
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Post by RWA3006 on Nov 3, 2024 20:50:39 GMT -5
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