SEASON 1, Episode 1: let's explore the dundee formation (part 1)
October 14, 2013: Casual Visit to Boler Mountain and adjoining forest.
A short visit behind the large ski hill Boler has been building for the past several years (composed mostly of imported clean fill) revealed an open pit where it is likely much of the rocks are local to the Dundee Formation. It should be kept in mind that large portions of Byron were once a series of gravel pits and quarries prior to suburban development. Most of the exposed pit, measuring about the size of an olympic swimming pool, contained rounded pebbles and sedimentary stone most likely by water erosion. Amidst these would be a mix of Devonian limestone fragments and Quaternary deposits.
While inspecting this area in particular, there was evidence of some fossilized coral colonies - pretty much common fare for the Dundee formation. However, I did find one spirifer bivalve fairly identical to the kind found in the Arkona area. There was no evidence of any further spirifer specimens, so I cannot confirm whether or not it was a natural feature here, or simply a stowaway.
Much of the imported clean fill contains a preponderance of manmade materials such as broken brick, concrete, and asphalt. Natural items include well worn and not so fossiliferous limestone, Quaternary deposits, pea-sized or smaller examples of feldspar and granite, and only very rarely a small schist or tiny book of black-grey shale (with little to no fossils). The woods around the Boler Mountain complex, riddled with mountain bike trails and now with zip-line facilities, contain various sizes of dull limestone deposits, mostly in exposed areas around small streams and thus succumbing to water erosion. There are no significant rock outcrops in the forest area, and there are several locations where the rock was imported to build up various features.
A short visit behind the large ski hill Boler has been building for the past several years (composed mostly of imported clean fill) revealed an open pit where it is likely much of the rocks are local to the Dundee Formation. It should be kept in mind that large portions of Byron were once a series of gravel pits and quarries prior to suburban development. Most of the exposed pit, measuring about the size of an olympic swimming pool, contained rounded pebbles and sedimentary stone most likely by water erosion. Amidst these would be a mix of Devonian limestone fragments and Quaternary deposits.
While inspecting this area in particular, there was evidence of some fossilized coral colonies - pretty much common fare for the Dundee formation. However, I did find one spirifer bivalve fairly identical to the kind found in the Arkona area. There was no evidence of any further spirifer specimens, so I cannot confirm whether or not it was a natural feature here, or simply a stowaway.
Much of the imported clean fill contains a preponderance of manmade materials such as broken brick, concrete, and asphalt. Natural items include well worn and not so fossiliferous limestone, Quaternary deposits, pea-sized or smaller examples of feldspar and granite, and only very rarely a small schist or tiny book of black-grey shale (with little to no fossils). The woods around the Boler Mountain complex, riddled with mountain bike trails and now with zip-line facilities, contain various sizes of dull limestone deposits, mostly in exposed areas around small streams and thus succumbing to water erosion. There are no significant rock outcrops in the forest area, and there are several locations where the rock was imported to build up various features.
Click on the button above to view episode 2 where I return to the Dundee formation, encounter live animals, and have my fill of rugose and tabulate corals
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