Fossil
View allAll Photos Tagged fossil
Approaching Double Arch in Arches National Park, Utah. I think it looks like a giant dinosaur fossil or a dragon!
Sunset. Fossil dunes are hardened sand dunes shaped uniquely by desert wind . Though it looks hard these are breakable sandstones which changes its shapes very slowly unlike normal sand dunes. Normal sand dunes moves and changes shapes frequently according to wind.
A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid ) is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes in the desert in dry, hot areas.
What could be more tempting, an empty beach, a changeable weather forecast, and a strong wind making things happen. As the season progresses storms denude the beach of it's sand , and the rock strata is more emphasised. It's like walking on pavements of fossils. Fossil Scale is by Georgia Ruth
Another bit of night shoot stuff from Whitby. The town is so beautiful on an evening, but perhaps avoid the weekends...
This is a four photo shot of a fossilized ammonite that has been stitched together. A fairly common fossil, this ammonite was cut in two to reveal the spiral growth of the creature's shell which is visible. The growth cells have filled in with different materials which have become rock over the years - somewhere between 240 - 64 million years ago. Ammonite's became extinct with the dinosaurs.
Taken 30 January 2023
Think I bought this in Nederland Co. Ammonites are perhaps the most widely known fossil, possessing the typically ribbed spiral-form shell as pictured above. These creatures lived in the seas between 240 - 65 million years ago, when they became extinct along with the dinosaurs.
Bufflehead fossils date from 500,000 years ago.
This shot was taken from our 22' dory in the Back Bay, Newport Beach, California. Buffleheads are small and speedy.
Bufflehead
Bucephala albeola
Member of Nature’s Spirit
Good Stewards of Nature
Patricia Ware Bird Photography
© 2016 Patricia Ware - All Rights Reserved
This is a detail from a stone which was to be used as a pendant, but I never finished it.
2018 one photo each day
Macromondays theme rock
The fossil was captured in Geological Museum in Poland.
The only geological museum in Poland, where you will see a complete collection of rocks, reflecting the geological structure of the country. The thematic exhibitions allow you to delve into the fascinating world of minerals, crystals and fossils. You can also see a mini exhibition of meteorites, as well as the skulls of our prehistoric ancestors. Take a selfie with a Dilaphosaurus, which lived 200 million years ago in the Polish mountains. A faithful copy of this feathered prehistoric reptile known as Dyzio has a loyal group of fans. However, the biggest impression on visitors is made by the skeletons of animals from the ice age: a mammoth, a large rhinoceros and a hairy bear. And all this for free in the beautiful, somewhat old-fashioned interiors of a building from the beginning of the 20th century.
Fossil trees are everywhere in the Petrified Forest, Arizona. The original trees fell to the ground and were covered with sand and volcanic material some 225 million years ago during the Late Triassic Period.
Fossilien finden sich rund um den Elm ja recht häufig. Meist sind es Ammoniten im Kalkstein, der hier auf den Äckern ja quasi "wächst". Solch ein versteinerter Seeigel aus Flintstein ist da eher seltener anzutreffen. Umso schöner, wenn man auf einem Streifzug durch die Gegend solch einen schönen Ackerfund machen kann...
I’m trawling the archives trying to delete some of the 28k images in LR but keep getting held up editing old ones. This is from the last ice festival in Lake Louise since the pandemic…..hoping it comes back in 2024. It’s by Team Japan, Junichi Nakamura and Shinichi Sawamura.
The Ajuy's Fossil Dunes stand as a striking testament to Fuerteventura's deep geological past. Situated along the path leading to the famous caves, these magnificent sand walls are not ordinary rock formations. They are a specific type of sedimentary rock known as calcarenite, formed during the Pliocene epoch, approximately 2 to 5 million years ago. The process responsible for their creation is called lithification, a natural phenomenon where ancient dunes composed of loose sand and the remains of marine organisms were compacted and cemented together, solidifying into the stone walls we see today.
This formation process left behind a wealth of valuable information within the rock itself. These fossilized dunes are rich with marine fossils, including ancient shells and algae, which provide a direct record of the island’s formation and the environmental conditions that shaped it millions of years ago. This geological marvel is a key part of the dramatic coastal landscape, which also includes the famous volcanic caves and the black sand beach. The entire site, located on the island’s western coast within the protected Betancuria Rural Park, is of immense importance for anyone studying the natural history of the Canary Islands.
Explored: August 13, 2025
A place to test your ankles. Eroded but still relatively young (geologically) lava fields at the southern extent of the Sierra Nevada in California. Watch your step.
The south end of Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California is marked by this ridge with accompanying sea cliffs. I haven’t got down to look at it geologically yet. (Too busy playing with grandkids and taking their pics.) I am hoping to find fossils there.
The south end of Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California is marked by this ridge with accompanying sea cliffs. I haven’t got down to look at it geologically yet. (Too busy playing with grandkids and taking their pics.) I am hoping to find fossils there.
When I look at the point from this vantage point I can see a mimetolith. A mimetolith is a natural topographic feature, or rock outcrop, whose shape resembles a person, a real or imagine animal, a plant, a manufactured item or any part thereof. Visual pattern recognition like seeing shapes in clouds and rocks; seeing faces in inanimate objects or abstract patterns is a normal human tendency. This tendency called pareidolia, was once seen as a mental disorder but is now seen as common and normal in humans. (No, I am not crazy…well maybe a little.) In this ridge I see a giant reptile crouching down at water level. Do you see it. The eye on the far right of the ridge is the easiest to see. Then let your imagination take over.
A "fossil" from my archives, lovingly adapted to look like a very old photo…for Sliders Sunday. 😊
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
HSS!
The Fossil Rim Wildlife Center near Glen Rose Texas sits in an area of flat topped ridges and grassy valleys as seen in this photo. The Ridges are mostly made of Lower Cretaceous limestones mixed with interbeds of shale, clay; siltstone and sandstone. As the name Fossil Rim implies, some of the limestones are fossiliferous and contain gastropods; pelecypods; cephalopods; ammonites; marine macrofossils; fossils
Shallow seas often left ripple marks in the sediments. These marks, when suddenly covered by floods or volcanic activity, would fossilize. This plate is actually a flagstone making up a stair in our local Botanic Garden. There are a number of these visible in the walks of the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Fossil ripple marks are preserved, wave-like patterns in sedimentary rocks (like sandstone) that show ancient water or wind movement, acting as "fossils" of past currents, helping geologists determine flow direction and environments (beaches, rivers, dunes) from millions of years ago. Formed by sediment being moved by waves (symmetrical ripples) or currents (asymmetrical ripples), they harden into rock through lithification, capturing a snapshot of geological time.
How They Form
Water/Wind Action: Moving water (waves, streams) or wind blows over loose sand or mud, creating ridges and troughs.
Burial & Hardening: More sediment buries these ripples, and over long periods, minerals cement them into solid rock (lithification).
What They Tell Us (Paleocurrent Indicators)
Direction: The gentle slope of asymmetrical ripples points in the direction of water flow (paleocurrent).
Environment:
Symmetrical Ripples: Indicate back-and-forth wave action (beaches, lake shores).
Asymmetrical Ripples: Suggest unidirectional flow (rivers, tidal flats) or wind (dunes).
Energy: The size and shape can hint at the energy level of the ancient environment (e.g., gentle waves vs. strong currents).
Other trace fossils of rain drops in mud are considered evidence of weather as much as are the foot prints of animals, including dinosaurs evidence of their passing by.