HOME>Fossil Dig Utah FOSSIL HUNT & DIG - UTAH
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Allosaurus, Utah's State Fossil, was the dominant predator of North America during the Late Jurassic.
It is known from numerous skeletons, ranging from 10 to 40 feet in length, from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in
east-central Utah. Mounted skeletons, cast from Cleveland-Lloyd Allosaurs, are displayed in over three dozen museums around
the world. With sharper teeth and a more graceful build, Allosaurus rivals Tyrannosaurus rex as the supreme
meat-eater of the Mesozoic.
Day 1 started out with a drive through the most beautiful country and
through 6 miles of dirt road to reach our Dinosaur Dig - here we are before we start.
Walking and searching the ground for Dinosaur Bones.
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Permian Amphibian Tracks just off the side of the road. |
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DAY 2
HUNTING TRILOBITES
All the kids made friends very easily and worked together
to find some great fossils to keep and take home.
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Parents had a great time discovering Trilobites as well.
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DAY 3
TOPAZ GEMSTONES
GEODES
WONDERSTONE
Topaz and other minerals found at Topaz Mountain, Juab County
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Geologic Information: Topaz, Utah's state gem, is a semiprecious gemstone that occurs as very hard, transparent crystals in a variety of colors.
The topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber colored, but become colorless after exposure to sunlight. The crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain Rhyolite, a volcanic rock which erupted approximately six to seven million years ago (Tertiary Period) from volcanic vents along faults in the area.
Other minerals that can be found at Topaz Mountain are red beryl, amethyst, garnet, pseudobrookite, bixbyite, opal, and hematite.
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These rocks didn't give up their cool gemstones easily!
by Carl Ege
Geologic information: Approximately 6 to 8 million years ago (Miocene epoch), volcanic activity occurred in western
Utah and deposited an extrusive igneous rock called rhyolite. Trapped gasses formed cavities within the rhyolite, and millions of years
of ground-water circulation allowed minerals to precipitate into the cavities. The result is geodes with spherical shapes and
crystal-lined cavities.
Roughly 32,000 to 14,000 thousand years ago, a large body of water known as Lake Bonneville covered most of western Utah. The lake's wave activity eroded the geode-bearing rhyolite and redeposited the geodes several miles away in the Dugway geode bed area as lake sediments.
Most geodes are typically hollow whereas others are completely filled with massive, banded quartz. The most common mineral found within the geodes is quartz in various colors: clear (rock crystal), purple (amethyst), and pink (rose).
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Close up view of a geode embedded in the soft earth.
Everyone was successful at finding really cool geodes
to keep and take home.
Wonderstone found at Vernon Hills.
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A striking feature of Vernon Hills wonderstone is its intricately folded bands that create colorful designs in cream, yellow-brown, and multiple shades of maroon.
Geologic information: The Vernon Hills wonderstone is a welded-vitric tuff (vitric means glassy) of rhyolitic composition. It is a
volcanic rock composed predominantly of volcanic glass particles which have been welded or stuck together by heat and compacted by the weight
of overlying material. Alteration of the rock by circulating ground water produced the colorful banding. The maroon and yellow-brown colors
are due to the presence of iron oxides.
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Sarah and I both had a marvelous time on the trip. The geology and scenery, especially on the first (mars-like) day, were so spectacular that they would have made the trip worthwhile even without the fossils.
However, finding that femur, rib bone, etc. positioned to suggest a whole giant skeleton under the surface was a thrill of a lifetime! The trilobites, topaz, wonderstone, and geodes were also fantastic, as were all the little extras: the ancient amphibian tracks, the abandoned mars rover training site, the unexpected picnic by the lake. Sarah was delighted with everything -- including your prize raffles, the motel, and all the other children. In fact, she loved everything so much that she can't decide on any single favorite moment after the femur, and wants to go back again next year.
Three days of adventure traveling with a child and not a single bad moment must be some kind of record. For me, I think the most fascinating thing was probably seeing the geodes embedded in the rock as round stone bubbles in their natural state. I learned a great deal on this trip, and even the flat tire we got on one of the unpaved roads on Day 2 turned out to be virtually painless, as the guides, the two of you, and all the members of the group were all so wonderfully kind and helpful. So thank you once again for designing and organizing this great experience, and I look forward to meeting again some time.
All the best,
Maude and Sarah
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If you come with us on our next Dinosaurs Rock Fossil Dig in Utah, why not extend your time either before or after the dig with the following fun activities:
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Thanks for traveling with us.
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