IL Glacial Till Fossils

[ToddsPoint]

I'm more of an arrowhead hunter than a fossil hunter. The river near my house cuts through the terminal moraine of the WI glacier. The glacier left a deposit of sand, gravel, clay, stones, cobbles, and boulders 200' thick at my house. The river exposes the glacial rocks, called "glacial till". The individual rocks are called "glacial erratics". Here's a pic of the shore of the river when the water is down.



Although I'm looking for arrowheads, I can't resist picking up a fossil if I bump into one. Here are some coral fossils.

 

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[ToddsPoint]

Here are some crinoids.




These crinoids were given to me by a friend 30 yrs. ago. He was a scout master and he took his troop to a working quarry near Charleston, IL. Evidently, you could go there on Sat. when they weren't working and gather crinoids for a small fee. I never went there so don't know anymore about it. He said you could gather buckets full if you wanted.

 

[Yak1366]

Great pieces!! Thanks for posting!!

 

[Indian Steve]

NICE! I collected fossils in southern Indiana 50 years ago that look a lot like yours. My Grandfather called the crinoids , "Indian Bead". I stayed on his farm every summer and spent hours in the creek out back.

 

[Plumbata]

Awesome finds, the "chain corals" are always a favorite to find. One of your chain coral specimens protrudes significantly from the host rock, did you acid-soak it or find it like that? If natural must have been recently exposed as it wouldn't take long for the elements to take their toll, good stuff.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Awesome finds, the "chain corals" are always a favorite to find. One of your chain coral specimens protrudes significantly from the host rock, did you acid-soak it or find it like that? If natural must have been recently exposed as it wouldn't take long for the elements to take their toll, good stuff.

It's natural. I didn't know you could acid soak to bring out the detail. I don't remember exactly where I got it, but I imagine it was freshly eroded out by the river when I found it. Every time the river goes up and down new stuff comes out. Gary

 

[Whiplash016]

Hydrochloric acid will dissolve the calcium carbonate infilled areas, but I would use it on silicified fossils only. Some people use vinegar as it’s less aggressive

 

[fuss]

Those are really cool pieces, some look like they could be museum worthy!