This is Mazon Monday post #218. What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:[email protected].
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A few weeks ago, ESCONI held the Spring 2024 edition of the Braceville Field Trip to collect Mazon Creek concretions. The weather was nice, no rain this time. Saturday, May 4th was hot, with highs in the mid to upper 80s. That is unseasonably warm, but is consistent with the weather this spring. We were about three weeks ahead of usual conditions. Sunday was cooler... about 15 degrees cooler. That made for much more comfortable digging.
The hill is still quite large, but it seems to shrink a bit every year. For a little perspective, have a look at Mazon Monday #130, where we discuss the history of the spoil pile. The pile is from the Braceville Coal Company No. 4 mine, which was a shaft mine in operation from 1892 - 1900. It was the second most productive of their six mines, producing almost 1.8 million tons of coal. The mine covered about 249 acres. The company was targeting the Colchester coal seam, which sits at a depth of between 103 and 110 feet with a thickness of 3.5 feet.
We had a fossil pour on each day. Material was supplied by Andrew Young, Connor Puritz, Chris Berg, and Rich Holm. Thanks for the contributions!
Saturday's pour.
Sunday's pour.
Mazon Creek collectors are a hardy bunch and unsurprisingly, there was a great turnout each day. The poison ivy was out in force and although we didn't hear a peep the ticks were surely hiding in the longer grass. A few people ventured into the bush, but most stayed on the hill and dug to their hearts content. Quite a few nicely shaped concretions were found. Hopefully, more than a few will open up and reveal a nice treasure. Please send us photos of interesting fossils. If you have questions about how to process your finds, have a look at Mazon Monday #27.
Sign in and getting ready
Saturday's group selfie
Plenty of time on the hill
Lots of smiles
George finds the good ones by scent
Concretions in the shale
