Day 325: My September Morn paddle was not without other notable discovery in addition to the anticipated invasive plants. I found fossils! Well, sort of..."fossil" needs to be qualified. I think what I found up the Tilton Arm qualifies as a "pre-fossil." What initially caught my eye was an ochreous clay concretion which had broken apart to display the imprint of something teardrop-shaped roughly 1.5" long (a freshwater mussel shell, perhaps?). Turning over other fragments of the material revealed a pattern of straight lines which on closer examination appeared to be the imprint of evergreen needles; under the magnifier, the central vein of each needle was quite distinct. The clay matrix was quite soft, easily scored with a thumbnail. I suspect the clay is a recent deposition, probably pre-dating Mt. St. Helens' 1980 eruption, but possibly not. This area did receive substantial ashfall. I will ask our Park geologists for their thoughts on the find.
Even if the mineral specimen isn't a "fossil" in the truest sense of the word, you can't deny the paleontological significance of a Tyrannosaurus rex preserved in its entirety. My second discovery of the day came from the Cowlitz Arm, just off the banks of Ike Kinswa State Park. Never knew they'd roamed the Pacific Northwest.
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