Author: Alan Goldstein

Minerals from the Illinois – Kentucky Fluorspar District

This locality deserves its own gallery because it has been among my favorite places since my interest developed in 1981. I will post articles and site photos elsewhere on my website. Check below or drop me a note to find out what’s new.

Many photos are self-collected specimens from Hastie’s Quarries, Cave in Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois. I was introduced to Don & Bob by the late Gill Montgomery back in 1983. The mining area today scarcely resembles its appearance in the 1980s. Smaller mine locations within Hastie’s include: Austin Lead mine, Cleveland mine, Green-Defender, adits that led to the Victory mine, and the Lead Hill mine. These old mines date from the 1920s to the 1950s and were largely mined through as the quarry’s chief product has always been limestone and sandstone. This location is the south side of “Spar Mountain” – a escarpment about 1 mile north of the Ohio River in the Cave in Rock area.

Other Hardin Co. Illinois localities where I found minerals include the dumps of the Rosiclare Lead & Spar Co. mill (site closed in the 1950s) – it’s now the location of the American Fluorite Museum, the Annabel Lee mine, Minerva No. 1 mine, and the Barnett mine Conn’s mine, a surface pit near the Gaskin’s mine and the Henson mine, in Pope Co., Illinois.

Kentucky localities include mine dumps and diggings in Crittenden and Livingston Counties. I collected my first hemimorphite at the Hickory Cane in 1987. The mine dumps were turned for the early Clement Mineral Museum field trips and shows and produced small but spectacular examples of the species for the fluorspar district. I had the pleasure of roaming with Bill Frazer, of Marion, Kentucky, who worked in Kentucky mines and who’s land contains the Old Jim and Columbia mine and Eureka prospects, the latter two being specimen producers, the Columbia is well-known for its fluorescent minerals.

While my award-winning article published by the Mineralogical Record in 1997 is a good history of the area, I have found so much more since that I could rewrite that article. And one of these days, I will!

Like my website, this gallery is a work-in-progress. Specimens will be posted in alphabetic order: Azurite, Barite, Calcite, Celestine, Cerussite, Chalcopyrite, Fluorite, Galena, Hemimorphite, Hydrozincite, Kaolinite, Malachite, Quartz, Petroleum, Smithsonite, Sphalerite, Strontianite, & Witherite. Alstonite & paralstonite and benstonite are reported and I have a photo or two of those. Maybe even marcasite, pyrite & sulfur!

Calcite

Calcite – Calcium carbonate – is a common mineral. Some mines produced some distinctive crystals (Denton, for instance). Hastie’s calcites were mostly barrel-shaped with negative rhomb terminations, but scalenohedrons were found. I have an odd-shaped 50 pound crystal in my garden collected around 2015 or 16, but most are much smaller.

Calcite crystal coated with somewhat iridescent iron (goethite?). Collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie's Quarry in July 1984. FOV = 3 cm
Calcite crystal coated with somewhat iridescent iron (goethite?). Collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie’s Quarry in July 1984. FOV = 3 cm
Calcite pseudomorph after gas bubbles! (Coated with dried bitumen.) Found during my first visit to the Hastie's in 1983. I didn't notice the weirdness until nearly 20 years later when examining specimens in my collection with a binocular microscope. FOV ~5mm
Calcite pseudomorph after gas bubbles! (Coated with dried bitumen.) Found during my first visit to the Hastie’s in 1983. I didn’t notice the weirdness until nearly 20 years later when examining specimens in my collection with a binocular microscope. FOV ~5mm
Calcite pseudomorph after gas bubbles with dried bitumen. Found during my first visit to the Hastie's in 1983. FOV ~1 cm
Calcite pseudomorph after gas bubbles with dried bitumen. Found during my first visit to the Hastie’s in 1983. FOV ~1 cm
A microscope view of calcite showing parallel doubly-terminated crystals. With frothy-looking fluorite, this specimen was likely etched by acidic fluids. Collected by me November 5, 1983 from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie's Quarry in 1986. View ~1 cm.
A microscope view of calcite showing parallel doubly-terminated crystals. With frothy-looking fluorite, this specimen was likely etched by acidic fluids. Collected by me November 5, 1983 from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie’s Quarry in 1986. View ~1 cm.
Not handsome, this large specimen covered in small calcite crystals was collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie's Quarry in 1986. That locality has long been quarried away.
Not handsome, this large specimen covered in small calcite crystals was collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie’s Quarry in 1986. That locality has long been quarried away.
Spray of calcite crystals with minor goethite coating on etched fluorite. Collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie's Quarry in July 1984.
Spray of calcite crystals with minor goethite coating on etched fluorite. Collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie’s Quarry in July 1984.
Calcite – a large mass of drusy crystals (fracture-filling) with a cluster of brown scalenohedrons on one side. Collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie's Quarry in August 11,1984.
Calcite – a large mass of drusy crystals (fracture-filling) with a cluster of brown scalenohedrons on one side. Collected by me from the old Austin Lead mine exposed in Hastie’s Quarry in August 11,1984.
Calcite on etched fluorite (not scale on right), collected October 26, 1984 from the dump on the north side of the old Austin mine.
Calcite on etched fluorite (not scale on right), collected October 26, 1984 from the dump on the north side of the old Austin mine.
Calcite - "The Mustache" perched on fluorite, from the middle workings, the east part of the Cleveland mine workings or barite diggings, Hardin Co., IL. Collected May 24, 1986. One of my favorite self-collected specimens from Cave in rock, Illinois.
Calcite – “The Mustache” perched on fluorite, from the middle workings, the east part of the Cleveland mine workings or barite diggings, Hardin Co., IL. Collected May 24, 1986. One of my favorite self-collected specimens from Cave in rock, Illinois.
Calcite in parallel growth from the famous Minerva No. 1 mine north of Cave in Rock. This specimen was obtained in the early 1960s by Jim Below and traded with me in March 1987 for other minerals to build up his inventory for his business.
Calcite in parallel growth from the famous Minerva No. 1 mine north of Cave in Rock. This specimen was obtained in the early 1960s by Jim Below and traded with me in March 1987 for other minerals to build up his inventory for his business.
Calcite, a large prism with a negative rhomb cap. Not a perfect specimen but the biggest I collected, May 27, 1989, from the old Austin Lead mine at Hastie's. Has a phantom visible in UV light.
Calcite, a large prism with a negative rhomb cap. Not a perfect specimen but the biggest I collected, May 27, 1989, from the old Austin Lead mine at Hastie’s. Has a phantom visible in UV light.
A small vug of prismatic calcite crystals from the same area as the specimen above. 3.5 cm field of view.
A small vug of prismatic calcite crystals from the same area as the specimen above. 3.5 cm field of view.
Calcite with etched blue fluorite from the north orebody of the Annabel Lee mine. Purchased for $5 from Palmer's Rock Shop in Cave in Rock, May 28, 1989.
Calcite with etched blue fluorite from the north orebody of the Annabel Lee mine. Purchased for $5 from Palmer’s Rock Shop in Cave in Rock, May 28, 1989.
Opposite side of the above calcite specimen. Highly elongated calcite crystals were common at the Minerva No. Mine, too.
Opposite side of the above calcite specimen. Highly elongated calcite crystals were common at the Minerva No. Mine, too.
Calcite with minor fluorite from the north orebody of the Annabel Lee mine, Harris Creek sub-district, Hardin Co., Illinois. Purchased at a rock shop in the area in the mid-1990s for a mere $15. Note the 2 cm scale on the left.
Calcite with minor fluorite from the north orebody of the Annabel Lee mine, Harris Creek sub-district, Hardin Co., Illinois. Purchased at a rock shop in the area in the mid-1990s for a mere $15. Note the 2 cm scale on the left.
Calcite crystal without a mine locality from Cave in Rock, Illinois. Obtained from Steve Garza's collection.
Calcite crystal without a mine locality from Cave in Rock, Illinois. Obtained from Steve Garza’s collection.
Calcite - snowy white - on sphalerite. No locality with the specimen, but probably from the Minerva No. 1 mine because the sphalerite crystals are so large. Ex-Steve Garza specimen.
Calcite – snowy white – on sphalerite. No locality with the specimen, but probably from the Minerva No. 1 mine because the sphalerite crystals are so large. Ex-Steve Garza specimen.

Dolomite

Surprisingly rare in the fluorspar district, considering it is common elsewhere – and not too far away. I found one microcrystal at Hastie’s. The best crystals (very few at that) were on a piece of sphalerite I found at the Annabel Lee mine on August 31, 1991.

Sphalerite, fluorite and rare dolomite crystals (on the left side), from the Annabel Lee mine.
Sphalerite, fluorite and rare dolomite crystals (on the left side), from the Annabel Lee mine.
Dolomite on sphalerite, 3.5 cm FOV, Annabel Lee mine.
Dolomite on sphalerite, 3.5 cm FOV, Annabel Lee mine.
Close-up of the saddle-shaped dolomite crystals shown above. The peach is common color for this mineral (white, pink, orange and mixed shades).
Close-up of the saddle-shaped dolomite crystals shown above. The peach is common color for this mineral (white, pink, orange and mixed shades).

Fluorite

Fluorite – Calcium Fluoride – became an important mineral in the 1880s when it was found to be an ideal flux to purify molten iron. Since then, it has found thousands of other industrial uses. During World War II, miners and anyone associated with the fluorspar mining industry were not allowed to join the fight in Europe or the Pacific. They had to produce ore for the war effort. Anyone who slipped away to join the army were sent home to work the mines!

Fluorite occurs in many colors. In the district, shades of purple and yellow were most common in the bedding replacement deposits, while white and brown were common in the veins. Blue is well-documented and highly sought by collectors. Green was found in the Rose mine in Hick’s dome. I found pink crystals at Conn’s mine in Pope Co. In general, most fluorite doesn’t fluoresce in the fluorspar district, except from oil inclusions. Fluorite around Hick’s dome has enough rare earth elements so it glows bright blue!

Smoky blue fluorite with caliche from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Smoky blue fluorite with caliche from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Smoky blue fluorite from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Smoky blue fluorite from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Zoned fluorite cut to show white and purple inside, from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Zoned fluorite cut to show white and purple inside, from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
A chunk of fluorite cut to show blue and purple inside, from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
A chunk of fluorite cut to show blue and purple inside, from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Pink fluorite with cerussite and galena, from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984. FOV ~2 cm
Pink fluorite with cerussite and galena, from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984. FOV ~2 cm
Yellow fluorite from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Yellow fluorite from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Yellow cubes with a little purple. Back contains corroded crystals coated with tiny quartz needles. Conn's mine, collected in 1984.
Yellow cubes with a little purple. Back contains corroded crystals coated with tiny quartz needles. Conn’s mine, collected in 1984.
Purple over yellow fluorite, from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Purple over yellow fluorite, from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Smoky blue fluorite with caliche from Conn's mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Smoky blue fluorite with caliche from Conn’s mine, Pope Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Fluorite dusted with barite, old Austin Lead mine, Hastie's Quarries, Cave in Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois. Collected in 1983.
Fluorite dusted with barite, old Austin Lead mine, Hastie’s Quarries, Cave in Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois. Collected in 1983.
Fluorite dusted with barite, old Austin Lead mine, Hastie's Quarries, Cave in Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois. Collected in 1983.
Fluorite dusted with barite, old Austin Lead mine, Hastie’s Quarries, Cave in Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois. Collected in 1983.
Fluorite cube cluster, old Austin Lead mine, Hastie's Quarries, Cave in Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
Fluorite cube cluster, old Austin Lead mine, Hastie’s Quarries, Cave in Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois. Collected in 1984.
The back of a specimen calcite on fluorite specimen shown above. It has crystalline fluorite and a seam of barite. Collected October 26, 1984 from the dump on the north side of the old Austin mine.
The back of a specimen calcite on fluorite specimen shown above. It has crystalline fluorite and a seam of barite. Collected October 26, 1984 from the dump on the north side of the old Austin mine.
Fluorite with iridescent goethite (iron hydroxide) coating. Old Austin Lead mines, collected in 1984. FOV ~ 2 cm
Fluorite with iridescent goethite (iron hydroxide) coating. Old Austin Lead mines, collected in 1984. FOV ~ 2 cm
Bitumen coating lustrous amber fluorite cubes. Old Austin Lead mine.
Bitumen coating lustrous amber fluorite cubes. Old Austin Lead mine.
Purple over yellow fluorite surrounded by shale. Oxford Cut, Collected summer, 1987.
Purple over yellow fluorite surrounded by shale. Oxford Cut, Collected summer, 1987.
Mass of purple fluorite crystals protected by wet clay when found. Oxford Cut, Collected summer, 1987.
Mass of purple fluorite crystals protected by wet clay when found. Oxford Cut, Collected summer, 1987.
Large purple fluorite crystals protected by wet clay when found. Oxford Cut, Collected summer, 1987.
Large purple fluorite crystals protected by wet clay when found. Oxford Cut, Collected summer, 1987.
Fluorite chip showing "Mercedes" pattern on the corner axis.
Fluorite chip showing “Mercedes” pattern on the corner axis.
Diamond drill cores on solid fluorite found in Allied Chemical Co. core dump by Victory mine shaft.
Diamond drill cores on solid fluorite found in Allied Chemical Co. core dump by Victory mine shaft.

Malachite

Malachite coating corroded chalcopyrite in calcite. From the old Austin Lead mine, collected by me in July 1984.
Malachite coating corroded chalcopyrite in calcite. From the old Austin Lead mine, collected by me in July 1984.

Flowering Plants

This gallery includes native species and my favorite garden flowers. Look for information with each photo. I live in plant zone 6. I’m using the most common name although sometimes it might be the Latin name.

Threadleaf or Arkansas Bluestar blooms in April, gets about 6-feet wide, 3-feet tall and turns golden yellow in the fall.
Threadleaf or Arkansas Bluestar blooms in April, gets about 6-feet wide, 3-feet tall and turns golden yellow in the fall.
Baptisa australis var. minor, dwarf False Indigo, is like its larger variety with beautiful flowers.
Baptisa australis var. minor, dwarf False Indigo, is like its larger variety with beautiful flowers.
Bellwort is native plant that blooms in the spring.
Bellwort is native plant that blooms in the spring.
Bergenia "Baby Doll" is a shade-loving semi-groundcover that blooms in March. My plants don't flower every year.
Bergenia “Baby Doll” is a shade-loving semi-groundcover that blooms in March. My plants don’t flower every year.
Celandine Poppy is a native that blooms from late March until December. It spreads through "exploding" seed pods.
Celandine Poppy is a native that blooms from late March until December. It spreads through “exploding” seed pods.
Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata) isn't just a beautiful flower, it's a groundcover.
Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata) isn’t just a beautiful flower, it’s a groundcover.
Combination of Creeping Phlox "Candy Stripe" and Grape Hyacinths - it's a long-lived plant.
Combination of Creeping Phlox “Candy Stripe” and Grape Hyacinths – it’s a long-lived plant.
Grape hyacinths grow through a peanut shell left in the ground by a squirrel.
Grape hyacinths grow through a peanut shell left in the ground by a squirrel.
Korean Lilac is a small, long-lives shrub. The fragrant blooms pass all to quickly! Our plant is almost 30 years old.
Korean Lilac is a small, long-lives shrub. The fragrant blooms pass all to quickly! Our plant is almost 30 years old.
Ranunculus is a colorful flower that looks like a poppy.
Ranunculus is a colorful flower that looks like a poppy.
Solomon's Seal is a native plant with pendulous flowers in the spring.
Solomon’s Seal is a native plant with pendulous flowers in the spring.

Dolomite – an often under-appreciated mineral

Dolomite is another common mineral in sedimentary rock. It’s a carbonate mineral CaMg(CO3)2. Crystals are usually rhombic though growth can create a saddle-shape crystal. Color is commonly pearly white, but it can be pink, yellow, orange, brown or red. Those with the reddish tinge have iron in the atomic structure and are called ferroan dolomite.

Corydon Crushed Stone Quarry in Harrison Co., Indiana, is a top 3 or 4 American locality for its pink color. Intensity is variable and the color disappears if the specimen is left outside for a period of months or years.

This specimen I won as a door prize at my very first Kyana Geological society meeting I attended as a "Pebble Pup" in 1969.
This specimen I won as a door prize at my very first Kyana Geological society meeting I attended as a “Pebble Pup” in 1969.
This pink dolomite has small calcite crystals that formed later.
This pink dolomite has small calcite crystals that formed later.
A close-up of dolomite is saddle-shaped crystals, colored by iron and sprinkled with manganese oxide blebs.
A close-up of dolomite is saddle-shaped crystals, colored by iron and sprinkled with manganese oxide blebs.
Intense pink dolomite from the upper vuggy zone (often has bigger crystals)
Intense pink dolomite from the upper vuggy zone (often has bigger crystals)
Dolomite encrusting calcite; from the upper vuggy zone.
Dolomite encrusting calcite; from the upper vuggy zone

Harrodsburg, Monroe Co., Indiana, is a famous collecting locality for geodes. One of my favorites is the dolomite with a little iron giving it a vivid color.

Ferroan and regular dolomite on quartz in a geode
Ferroan and regular dolomite on quartz in a geode

Sellersburg Quarry, Clark Co., Indiana, has rare vugs of dolomite, calcite and pyrite in the Jeffersonville Limestone.

Dolomite in pale, pearly curved crystals. This is the best specimen Alan collected.

Lebanon Quarry, Marion Co., Kentucky, has pale dolomite crystals in a dolostone breccia and in rare calcareous nodules in the New Albany Shale.

Light pink-brown dolomite with needle-like crystals of goethite in a New Albany Shale calcareous nodule..
Light pink-brown dolomite with needle-like crystals of goethite in a New Albany Shale calcareous nodule.

Atkin’s Quarry

This quarry is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is the closest quarry to downtown Louisville. It is closed to collectors (don’t even ask) since late 2009.

The bottom of the quarry is Laurel Dolostone (Middle Silurian) and in ascending order: Waldron Shale, Louisville Limestone, Jeffersonville Limestone (Middle Devonian), Speed Limestone, North Vernon (= Sellersburg) Limestone, Beechwood Limestone, and basal New Albany Shale.

Unless noted, these photos were taken during a geology club visit on July 2004.

Looking west from the top of the quarry in 2004. Note slabs of New Albany Shale in the foreground.
Fossil rich chert (rock made of quartz) near the top of the quarry. This chert is rich in fossils including brachiopods, mollusks, and trilobites.
Deep weathering of Devonian limestone forming a clay-rich subsoil. Limertone weathers red – it’s called terra rosa (red earth).
Atkin’s Quarry had deep weathering solution features in the North Vernon (Sellersburg) Limestone. These features were created by sulfuric acid formed by ground water + decomposing pyrite located in the basal New Albany Shale.
Pseudoatrypa brachiopods are seen weathering out of limestone. They are an abundant fossil in Clark County.
Thin Tropidoleptus carinatus brachiopods in subsoil – notice how they were buried and eroded together.
For a short time, a rich deposit of Aulocystis corals were found eroding out of the limestone. These were still attached and uncollectable, but plenty of loose specimens were found. These are Aulocystis frutecosa (Davis). The area was blasted through not long after our visit in 2004.
Mud-covered fossils collected directly from the subsoil where the limestone decomposed.
The same tray after spraying the mud away with a hose. There are some spectacular corals here! We we fortunate to visit when this coral-rich area was exposed.
At the quarry road entrance: Walnut Ridge Cemetery with a “Dead End” sign! How’s that for appropriate? The roads were improved and this sign no longer exists. Too bad.

Roadcuts and Quarries Photo Gallery

Annotated with site information, including geological / paleontological / mineralogical. Many quarries listed are closed or no longer allow collectors. This album serves to document geological locations – not to provide locations for you to visit. Assume all active mines to be closed to casual collecting.

Atkin’s Quarry in Jeffersonville, Indiana, was visited between 1994 and 2009. Access was curtailed with new management and policies in late 2009. Click on photo to see more.

Photo of the Waldron shale in the Atkins Quarry pre-2009
Photo of the Waldron shale in the Atkins Quarry pre-2009

Hastie’s Quarries, Hardin Co., Illinois

Panoramic photo inside Hastie's Quarry before I replaced my Ford Ranger 4x4.
Panoramic photo inside Hastie’s Quarry

Speed Quarry, Clark Co., Indiana (Operated by Louisville Cement, then Essroc, then Italicementi, and now Heidelburg Cement, it will be closing soon if not already.)

View of expansive Speed Cement Quarry
View of expansive Speed Cement Quarry

Annabel Lee Mine – A fluorite mine in Hardin Co., Illinois that I visited with Chris Anderson in May, 1987. We spent an 8-hour shift documenting the mine operations and geology.

Fisheye lens photo of the Annabel Lee mine headframe in 1987. Chris Anderson photo.
Fisheye lens photo of the Annabel Lee mine headframe in 1987. Chris Anderson photo.

Coral Ridge / General Shale Brick Company, Jefferson Co., Kentucky – The type locality for the Coral Ridge pyrite-replaced fauna described by James Conkin in his master’s thesis published by the Paleontological research Institute in 1957. Many fossils were found over the years. The site became inaccessible in mid-2010 as our contact and many employees were laid off due to the 2008-9 recession and the lack of home building.

Looking for pyrite-replaced fossils at the General Shale Company outcrops.
Looking for pyrite-replaced fossils at the General Shale Company outcrops.

Additional locations – when I have time!

Boyle Co., Kentucky geode hunting – An area with geodes from smaller than an inch to bigger than 2-feet across. Mostly quartz with minor calcite, hematite, etc.

Cedar Creek Quarry, Bardstown, Kentucky – a limestone quarry (now closed) famous for trilobites in the Laurel dolostone. It also had brachiopods, crinoids, cephalopods, pyrite, calcite and sphalerite.

Carroll Co., Kentucky road cuts – in the Kope Formation, Upper Ordovician, they contain brachiopods, bryozoans, graptolites, mollusks, trilobites, and trace fossils.

Corydon Quarry, Harrison Co., Indiana – famous for superb pink dolomite with calcite of various shades of tan to white, often with inclusions of iron, rarely with millerite or MnO2. Quarry is active and closed to collecting.

Elizabethtown Quarry, Kentucky – a long-closed and now privately owned quarry that we collected 900 crinoids between 1990 – 1994. The scientific papers naming 9 new species were a result. The quarry had diverse Muldraugh, Harrodsburg & Salem Formation faunas.

Hardin Co., Kentucky road cuts – on Hwy 313, from the New Providence Shale to the St. Louis Limestone, Middle Mississippian age. Various fossils and geodes of calcite or gypsum.

Illinois side of the IL-KY fluorspar district (excluding Hastie’s & Annabel Lee mines)

Irvington Quarry, Breckinridge Co., Kentucky – famous for fluorite, calcite with minor quartz and other minerals. Locality owned by Liter’s, Inc. Closed to collectors, though the last time I visited, collecting was hardly worth the effort.

Kentucky side of the IL-KY fluorspar district – numerous old mines primarily dot Crittenden and Livingston Counties. No active mines since the 1960s.

Lebanon Quarry, Marion Co., Kentucky – Multiple quarries in various stages from long to recently abandoned to recently opened. Calcite and Ordovician fossils primarily. Oldest quarry has some Devonian fossils, largely weathered too much to be interesting.

Salem Quarry, Washington Co., Indiana – this closed quarry was famous for geodes with celestine and calcite. Fossils were known but not widely collected in the Mississippian formations.

Nature Photography

Explore the diversity of nature through Alan’s lens*. Infinite diversity in infinite settings!

* And some of my daughter, Emily…

Categories include:

Flowering plants

Exotic looking passion flower
Exotic looking passion flower

Birds

Hoatzins at Lake Shimigi in Peru October 20, 1988
Hoatzins at Lake Shimigi in Peru October 20, 1988

Insects, arachnids and other arthropods

Preying mantis (egg-laden) at the end of a stalk
Preying mantis (egg-laden) at the end of a stalk

Reptiles & amphibians

Eastern box turtle
Eastern box turtle

Mammals

Skunk on the front porch March 2021
Skunk on the front porch March 2021

Fish

Galapagos shark photographed off Oahu, Hawaii in 2007
Galapagos shark photographed off Oahu, Hawaii in 2007

Ecological settings

A school of sergeant major fish in a coral reef in Hawaii.
A school of sergeant major fish in a coral reef in Hawaii.

Weather and Clouds

My favorite weather picture - Cummulo-mammatus clouds at sunset near Marion, KY.
My favorite weather picture – Cummulo-mammatus clouds at sunset near Marion, KY.

Fossil Identification Guide

These pages illustrate a lot of different kinds of fossils. Within 60 minutes of the Louisville, Kentucky, area, geological time periods represented include: Upper Ordovician, Silurian, Middle – Upper Devonian, and Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous). The Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) is a bit beyond. The Pleistocene is represented by sand & gravel, loess and cave deposits.

Consider all guides to be “works in-progress. Images and information will be added.

Brachiopods               

Bryozoans                  

Corals                        

Echinoderms              

Mollusks

Sponges                

Trace Fossils

Trilobites & Crustaceans         

Misc. Fossils (Plants, wor犀利士 ms, microfossils, problematic, vertebrates)

Waldron Shale Fauna

Cambrictites greenei - a small pyritized goniatite from the Mississippian Coral Ridge fauna of Jefferson Co., KY. Goniatites are ammonoids with undulating sutures.
Cambrictites greenei – a small pyritized goniatite from the Mississippian Coral Ridge fauna of Jefferson Co., KY. Goniatites are ammonoids with undulating sutures.

Miscellaneous Fossils

I’ve collected or traded for a lot of miscellaneous fossils that aren’t diverse enough to list by category. These include fossil plants, vertebrates (mostly fish bone pieces from local bone beds), worms, graptolites, and problematic fossils that may belong to other phyla but are odd examples.

Photos – See each category

Annularia galoides in an ironstone nodule from northern Illinois.
Annularia galoides in an ironstone nodule from northern Illinois.

Preservation Key : C = Calcified, Ph = Phosphatic, P = Pyritized, S = Silicified, 1= w/o, matrix, 2 = w/

matrix

PLANTS                                                  Period or Epoch                  Location                Preservation

Beckerosperma ovalicarpa (seed) Oligocene Oregon C,2

Callixylon newberryi ^ (wood)       Middle Devonian                   IN                           S,1

^ (Almost the oldest petrified wood in the world)

Cederella merrilli (seed) Oligocene Oregon C,2

Various leaves Oligocene Oregon C,2

Various leaves Eoocene Colorado C,2

Malachite-coated lycopods               Pennsylvanian                     Oklahoma                  M,2

Prismostyus sp. (Rhodophyte algae)    Upper Ordovician                   KY                          C,1

Unidentified rhodophyte algae         Middle Mississippian                   KY                          Carbonized, 2

PROBLEMATICA                                           Period                               Location                Preservation

Conularia sp.  (Cnidarid)                   Upper Mississippian                       IN                           Ph,2 (partials)

Paraconularia sp.  (Cnidarid)             Middle Mississippian                     KY                          Ph,1,2

Sphenothallus sp.  (Tube worm?)        Upper Ordovician                       KY                          Carbonized, 2

WORMS                                    Period                  Location                Preservation

Cornulites flexuosus                           Upper Ordovician                          KY                          C,2

Cornulites proprius                              Middle Silurian                             IN                           C,1,2

Gitonia coralophila                             Middle Devonian                           IN                     S,1 (in horn coral)

Palaeoconchus annulatus                   Middle Mississippian                     IN,KY                    C,2

Palaeoconchus nodulatus                     ”                  ”                               IN,KY                    C,2

Preservation: C = Calcified, Ph = Phosphatic, P = Pyritized, S = Silicified, 1= w/o, matrix, 2 = w/ matrix

VERTEBRATES                                Period                  Location                Preservation

Bone bed fish teeth & scales             Middle Devonian                              IN                        Ph,2

Goniopholis sp. (crocodile tooth) Jurassic                              Wyoming               Ph,2

Odontaspis sp. (shark tooth)             Miocene                                        Manoc, Portugal  Ph,1

Orododus simplex                               Middle Mississippian                      KY                     Ph,2

Shark teeth                                            Cretaceous                                    MS                     Ph,1

Shark vertebrae                                    Cretaceous                                    Texas                   Ph,1

MISCELLANEOUS

Colelous tenuicinctum                       Middle Devonian                               IN                       S,C,2

Dictyonema sp. (graptolite)               Middle Silurian                                   IN                 Carbonized, 2

Geniculograptus typicallus                Upper Ordovician                               KY                Carbonized, 2

Tentaculites attentuatus                     Middle Devonian                               ONT                   C,1,2

Tentaculites richmondensis               Upper Ordovician                               IN,KY                  C,2

Tentaculites scalariformis                  Middle Devonian                                IN                        C,2

Assorted Insects                                  Eocene (Green River)                         CO                Carbonized, 2

Preservation Key: C = Calcified, Ph = Phosphatic, P = Pyritized, S = Silicified, 1= w/o, matrix, 2 = w/ matrix

MICROFOSSIL COLLECTIONS

Salem Limestone – Forams, Ostracods, Sponge spicules, Holothuroid sclerites, Brachiopods, Gastropods, Clams, Echinoid spines,  Bryozoans, Blastoids, Crinoid stems, Worms, etc.       Indiana                                  C,1 (shipped in zip-sealed bag)

Coon Creek marl – mollusk-rich             Union Co., Mississippi          C,1 (shipped in zip-sealed bag)

Trilobites and Crustaceans

Trilobites and crustaceans are arthropods, the group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, millipedes, and the like. Arthropods molt as they grow. The result is common fragments and rarer complete animals. (Updated Feb. 10, 2022)

Photos of Trilobites and Other arthropods

Trilobite Calymene breviceps from the Waldron Shale of Clark Co., Indiana.
Calymene breviceps Hall from the Waldron Shale of Clark Co., Indiana.

TRILOBITES   Period                                Location               Preservation

p = pygidium, t = thorax, c = cephalon

Arctinurus occidentalis (Hall) – Waldron Shale, Middle Silurian, Clark Co., IN – C,2

Arctinurus occidentalis pygidium resembles a palmetto leaf
Arctinurus occidentalis (Hall) pygidium resembles a palmetto leaf

Bumastus sp. – Laurel Formation, Middle Silurian, Bardstown, Nelson Co., KY – C,2

Bumastus pygidium, a steinkern encrusted with sphalerite crystals
Bumastus pygidium, a steinkern encrusted with sphalerite crystals

Calymene breviceps Hall – Waldron Shale, Middle Silurian, Clark Co., IN – C,2

Calymene breviceps with pyrite - this was found attached to the floor of the Atkin's Quarry
Calymene breviceps Hall with pyrite – this was found attached to the floor of the Atkin’s Quarry

Cheirurus dilatatus Raymond – Waldron Shale, Middle Silurian, Clark Co., IN – C,2

Cheirurus dilatatus has a spiny pygidium
Cheirurus dilatatus Raymond has a spiny pygidium
Cheirurus dilatatus has a large glabella
Cheirurus dilatatus (Raymond) has a large glabella

Cryptolithus bellulus Ulrich – a blind trilobite from the Kope Formation, Upper Ordovician, Carrol Co., KY – C,1,2

Cryptolithus bellulus cephalon with genial spines
Cryptolithus bellulus Ulrich – cephalon interior with genial spines

Eldridgeops sp. (was Phacops) – Sellersburg Limestone, Givetian, Middle Devonian, Clark Co., IN – S,1,2

Eldridgeops sp. - complete, flat and made of quartz
Eldridgeops sp. – complete, flat and made of quartz
Eldridgeops sp. - front of molted cephalon on trace fossil showing compound eyes (chert replacement)
Eldridgeops sp. – front of molted cephalon on trace fossil showing compound eyes (chert replacement)

Flexicalymene granulosa Foerste – Kope Formation, Upper Ordovician, Carrol Co., KY – C,1,2

Flexicalymene granulosa - a small enrolled specimen through a microscope. Kope Formation, Upper Ordovician,
Flexicalymene granulosa Foerste – a small enrolled specimen through a microscope.

Glyptambon verrucosus (p,c)            Middle Silurian                                  IN                          C,2

Kaskia chesterensis  (p)                      Upper Mississippian                         IN                          C,2

Litotix armatus (p,c)                            Middle Silurian                                IN                           C,2

Philibole conkini Hessler – Coral Ridge Member, New Providence Shale, Lowermost Middle Mississippian, Jefferson Co., KY – C,P,1,2

Philibole conkini Hessler - Coral Ridge Member, New Providence Shale, Lowermost Middle Mississippian, cephalon view
Philibole conkini – cephalon
Philibole conkini Hessler - Coral Ridge Member, New Providence Shale, Lowermost Middle Mississippian, cephalon and pygidium
Philibole conkini – cephalon and pygidium
Philibole conkini Hessler - Coral Ridge Member, New Providence Shale, Lowermost Middle Mississippian, thorax and pygidium
Philibole conkini – thorax and pygidium

Sthenarocalymene celebra (Raymond) – Laurel and Louisville Limestones, Middle Silurian, Jefferson & Nelson Cos., KY – C,1,2

Sthenarocalymene celebra - steinkern with manganese stain
Sthenarocalymene celebra (Raymond) – steinkern with manganese stain

Trimurus delphinocephalus (Green) – Waldron Shale, Middle Silurian, Clark Co., IN – C,2

Trimurus delphinocephalus cephalon
Trimurus delphinocephalus (Green) – cephalon
Trimurus delphinocephalus thorax and pygidium, prepped by Tom Johnson
Trimurus delphinocephalus (Green) – thorax and pygidium, prepped by Tom Johnson

Trilobite hash: C. bellus, F. granulosa, Acidapsis, Ceraurus, Isotelus, and other fossils, Up. Ordovician, KY, C,2

CRABS / OSTRACODS

Dakoticancer australus (crab)           Upper Cretaceous                           MS                          C,1

Paguristes whitteni (crab)                  Upper Cretaceous                          MS                          C,1

Paraparchites sp. (Ostracod)          Middle Mississippian                          KY                          C,2

Unidentified ostracods               Late Eocene or early Oligocene       Colorado                   Carb,2