Trout Creek

Dates:  Saturday, July 18th

Leader:  Dennis Gertenbach

Location:  Trout Creek, CO – Collecting on local, state, or federal public land between Deckers and Woodland Park

On this trip, we will be collecting is in the Manitou Formation from two sites. During the Ordovician (439 to 500 million years ago), Colorado was covered with an ocean. Fossils from that time include trilobites (mostly molts), brachiopods, cystoids, and other marine animals.

Both sites we plan to visit are old quarries. We will look for fossils that remain in the loose rock.

The first site is a half-mile uphill hike from where we will park. This site has brachiopods and cystoids. (Cystoids were ancient animals that were related to crinoids and other five-sided echinoderms.)

The quarry at the second site is about 1/2 mile up a rough road. If we have enough high-clearance vehicles, we can all ride to the quarry. If not, there will be a moderate hike with a 500-foot elevation gain. (At least we’ll be hiking our specimens downhill, rather than uphill.) This site has trilobites (mostly separate pygidiums and cephalons) and several species of brachiopods.

The field trip leader has a permit from the Forest Service to provide information about the fossils we collect. Please show any interesting fossils you find to him.

If you have questions about the trip, please contact Dennis Gertenbach at gertenbach1@gmail.com.