stigmaria

November 27, 2020 - Pennsylvanian, Jefferson County, Al

Submitted by Ann Strozier on Fri, 11/27/2020 - 8:49pm

Carboniferous/Pennsylvanian

Calamites

On Friday, November 27, 2020, seven BPS members and guests went to a working strip mine in Jefferson County to collect fossils from the Pottsville formation of the Pennsylvanian period. The fossils collected today originated in a warm, steamy, oxygen-rich environment and many grew to towering heights. Some of the fossils found are pith casts, formed when sediments filled the hollow center of a stem and later hardened/mineralized into rock. Other fossils are imprints and show beautiful details of fern-like foliage.

March 21, 2020 - Pennsylvanian, Jefferson, AL

Submitted by Ann Strozier on Mon, 03/23/2020 - 8:36pm

Carboniferous/Pennsylvanian

On Saturday, March 21, 2020, a baker’s dozen members and guests of BPS went to a site that we’d never visited. A tip from a member’s neighbor and a scouting outing was awarded by permission to collect in a strip mine in Jefferson County. The spoil piles that held fossils were from the Pennsylvanian period – Coal Age fossils that were formed as warm moist coastal swamps gave way to periodic flooding and sedimentation during continental drift changes. Interestingly, similarities between Pennsylvanian coal deposits in the Black Warrior Basin and those in South America indicate that they wer

March 3-4, 2012 Colbert, Franklin Co., AL

Submitted by Terry Todd on Tue, 01/22/2013 - 4:53pm

What a wonderful two day trip we had in March. The weather was sunny; light jacket weather, just right for being outside. Saturday we were at a quarry in Colbert County, and Sunday we were at a lake in Franklin County. The spoil pods were massive and extremely steep making them difficult to navigate. But being the adventureous spirits that we are, we conquered the spires and were greatly rewarded for our efforts.