Collecting Fossils in California - Trilobites

<BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <P><FONT COLOR="#000000">Trilobite Fossil Site -</FONT></P> <P><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>This beautiful fossil site is located near the base of a </FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>mountain</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1> in the Marble Mountains range, located 2.4 miles from the historic </FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>Route 66</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1> in the Mohave Desert of San Bernardino County of Southern California.</FONT></P> <P><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>This is an outcrop that spans from the </FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>Cambrian</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1> to the </FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>Devonian</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1> Periods. It is one of the oldest outcrops in California that yields fossils. The trilobites are located in a 60 feet thick formation named the </FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>Latham Shale</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1> close to the base of the mountain and inside the Early Cambrian age (approx. 560 million years ago).</FONT></P> <P><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>Trilobites, one of the first animals with eyes and skeletons on earth, were small marine crustaceans whose general body design closely resembled that of the existing </FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>horseshoe crabs</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>Amboy can be reached via Barstow by taking Interstate 40 until Ludlow (approx. 45 miles). There you take the historic Route 66. Amboy is approx. 30 miles from Ludlow.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>Amboy has two landmarks: an extinct volcano crater and a Gas Station / Motel / Cafe located along Route 66. If you are not planning on camping in the desert near the fossil site, I will recommend you make this place your center of operations while you dig the trilobites. </FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>The Motel is decent and appropriate for this kind of adventure. Each room has two full beds and air conditioning.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>From Amboy, take Route 66 East for approximately 10 miles until you reach a road that goes to the town of Cadiz. That road intersection is the old locality of Chambless. There is no much left there, except for an abandoned store at the right hand side of Route 66.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>The mountain is about 2 miles Northeast of the abandoned store. The fossil site (</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>red</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>) is in the East slope of the third of four ridges extending Southwest. To get there you must drive in desert trail roads and park near the base of the fourth ridge (</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>yellow</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>). It is possible to take a family car to the parking site, but a sport utility vehicle is recommended.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>Once you get to the base of the fourth ridge you will need to hike for about 1/2 mile with a steeper 100 yard climb at the end. You must hike East towards the third ridge of the mountain. If you go directly ahead (</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>yellow</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>) you will need to cross several gullies. If you want to avoid deep gullies at the expense of more walking, you can detour Southwest to where the gullies are not so deep (</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>blue</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>), then turning Northeast and hike up to the collecting area (</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>red</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>). </FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>The Latham Shale is a 60 feet thick formation below a very defined marker formed by a tilted row of dark brown rocks (</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>arrow</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1>). The fossil site area is easy to find. You will find many quarry holes with pieces of shale laying along the slope.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>Once you are in the Latham Shale formation, you will see quarry holes and a high amount of pinkish, dark green and light brown shale spread along the hillside. </FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>You can quarry or just inspect and split the shale lying around. Remains of trilobites, mostly </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=-1>cephalons</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1> (heads) and thorax segments are abundant. Slabs with complete specimens have been discovered by just splitting the shale found along the slope.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>In about an hour, you will find several trilobite remains, mainly from the species Olenellus Clarki. In about two hours, you will have an excellent chance of finding a complete trilobite - an animal that was alive where you are standing more than 550 million years ago!</FONT></P> <UL> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>Compass</FONT> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>Geological hammer</FONT> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>Chisel</FONT> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>Goggles</FONT> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>Gloves</FONT> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>Camping equipment and supplies (optional)</FONT> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>Video and/or photo camera (you need to record this adventure!)</FONT> </UL> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>The site, officially named "Trilobite Wilderness Area", its within authority of the Bureau of Land Management located in Needless. Permits are not required for the casual fossil collector.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>You must respect the area. Do not dig indiscriminately. You must clean-up and carry all your garbage with you. Take with you a maximum of two fossils per person. Please be aware that this fossil site is a gift from nature for everyone to enjoy.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>If you find an unusual fossil, please contact your nearest museum of Natural History. If you discover a new species, it will be named after you!</FONT></P> <P> </P> <P><FONT SIZE=-1>The following books are recommended for further reading:</FONT></P> <UL> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>"Trilobites" by Riccard Levi-Setti, The University of Chicago Press, 2nd edition, 1993. One of the best books on Trilobites. Many beautiful photographs with several Olenellus trilobites specimens collected at the Latham Shale.</FONT> <LI><FONT SIZE=-1>"Wonderful Life" by Stephen Jay Gould, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1989. Describes in detail the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale fauna and theorizes about the amazing improbability of vertebrated life ever dominating the world.</FONT> </UL> <P>Viewing this page requires a browser capable of displaying frames. With that capability you will be able to view images and graphics associated to the text for much more enjoyable experience. If you have a frames capable browser, go to the following URL:</P> <P>http://www.gtlsys.com ('Collecting Fossils in California' home page) </BODY>