This is a fossil and geological field trip to Mineral Wells, Possum Kingdom,
and Graham, Texas.
First stop was a small outcrop near the
Pennsylvanian-Cretaceous boundary along Hwy 180 east of Mineral Wells.
Nothing of interest was found except unidentifiable fragments of shells
AND a rattlesnake!.
This area represents some of the oldest
Cretaceous (Twin Mountains Formation) AND Pennsylvanian Period (Garner Formation?)
deposits in the area. |
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Rattlesnake
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Next stop was the dramatic road cut east of Mineral Wells.
Here the road briefly splits east bound and west bound around a hill.
The south lane is much lower in elevation and reveals how the hard
sandstone is sitting on top of shale.
This is the Mineral
Wells formation. No fossils found. |
North lane going west.
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South lane going east.
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| Next stop is "Union Hill" outcrop
north of Mineral Wells. Last time I was here I found many fossils
but no fossils this time. |
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| Next up is Possum Kingdom. This is a new development
near the lake. Many fossils were found here. |
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Possum Kingdom lake.
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The fossils found here:
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| Onward to the Graham area. This is a dramatic and
large road cut just before the Young county line. Notice the person
in the lower left of the first picture for scale. This is the Ranger
limestone. No fossils found. |
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| This is a great little exposure outside of Graham, Texas. This
is the Graham formation. |
South side:
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North side:
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North side:
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Fossils found last trip:
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| A diversion from fossils... These adorable
goats are just across the road from an abandoned quarry. |
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| The is an old abandoned quarry southeast of Graham.
The quarry has some crinoid stalks but nothing worth keeping. |
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| This is an exposure west of Graham. No fossils at all! |
Just west of town.
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On the road to Eliasville.
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| No fossils were found in the available exposures southwest
and west of Graham. |
