Joshua+Tree+NP

Ranger Lorna Lange lorna_lange@nps.gov Excellent geology of JTNP presentation. []

The day before spring break I learned from Ranger Lorna that our local park has fossils. She didn't divulge their location, but GOOGLE did. Because of this my family and I hiked back to some strata of the Pleistocene Epoch in the Pinto Basin. Below are photos of what we observed. (We hope to return and visit these items again in the fall.)

Pleistocene = Camels, dire wolves, and giant sloths oh my.

How does one determine if an item on the ground is a fossil or not?

Lesson being imparted: fossils shouldn't be unburried. Information about a fossil is lost if they are dug up. Buried fossils must remain so. If totally loose fossils are picked up, they should be returned to their exact original position. Here I was identifying this specimen "in situ" to ascertain if it was a fossil. My wife and I learned from a ranger in Dinosaur provincial park how to identify fossil bone. We learned that the tongue will tightly stick to fossil bone due to its structure. This technigue is slightly reminiscent of touching ones tongue to subfreezing metal without the loss of skin. All-terrain Pleistocene exploration vehicles with sippy cup holders. Draft parents for support and propulsion not included, but the smell of draft animals comes with use.

Our search brought us here. Some of the first petrified bone chips we found.

The roundish shape on the right side of this fossil kind of look the end of a bone.



This felt like stone, but I wasn't about to lick it. I couldn't get Deb to lick it either.





Not a fossil. Might be a fulgurite.

Possibly someones marker.

ear Crystal observed. Little cutie.

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 * Seth Shteir, //California Desert Field Representative, California Desert Field Office//**Seth Shteir is honored to have joined the National Parks Conservation Association’s California Desert Field Office. Seth developed a love of arid lands while visiting Arizona’s national parks as a child with his father. Clambering up saguaro strewn slopes, observing iridescent hummingbirds and surprising coatamundis in a desert wash instilled a desire to protect special places. Prior to working at NPCA, Seth shared his passion for the natural world for 13 years as an outdoor educator and classroom teacher at the New Jersey School of Conservation, Fresh Air Fund, Lorado Taft Field School and Children’s Community School. He has also served eight years on the board of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society, most recently as conservation chair and vice president. Seth’s environmental writing has appeared in a variety of newspapers and magazines, including //[|National Parks]//. He is especially fond of the wildlife, starry skies and compelling geological formations of the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park. Seth is delighted to join NPCA and looks forward to helping protect our national parks.

Jamie Whitlock, D.C. practices as a Chiropractor in Yucca Valley, CA. Biker in Yucca Valley / has organized rides in the park.