Rocks & Other Treasures
Finding them rolling around the Big Bend area and what do with them
by Debbie Wahrmund
Roadcut to find Paisanite hwy 90W outside A lpine
T
raveling I-10 to Far West Texas
will not be as monotonous when
entering the Trans-Pecos area
from the east once you recognize the
geology.
Traversing mountains and basins can
be more than naming the mountains
and plants of the desert, though there is
nothing like Elephant Mountain when
it comes into view, or spotting the first
sotol,
lechuguilla
or
ocotillo.
The geology is amazing, starting when
the Stockton Plateau rises magnificently
from 2,500 feet elevation to over 4,000
feet in the Glass Mountains. One can-
not help but note that the landscape has
changed from an occasional windmill
used to pump water to one dominated
by hundreds of wind generators dotting
14
the mesas–doubling in number on the
Texas landscape since 2010 to over
20,000 in 2016. But before rolling
through the limestone-covered plains,
think about stopping.
Fort Stockton: Fossils. Snail shells,
ammonites, and clam shells are plentiful
in the caliche (pronounced ka-LEE-
chee) found north of Fort Stockton.
Some fossils can be found near an old
caliche pit, and the invertebrates are very
collectable. Take Hwy 285 toward
Pecos. Less than five miles from Ft.
Stockton on the west side of the road,
turn off on a short dirt road; hunt only
the rights of way, not on private land
where there are gates or fences. Be care-
ful with the traffic from oil and gas
trucks. According to locals, every time it
Cenizo
Second Quarter 2018
rains, the caliche washes down and fos-
sils are exposed from the former ocean
bottom. Discover more about fossils
from books such as the Journal of a Fossil
Hunter: Fossils, by Louise Spilsbury and
Richard Spilsbury, in which the authors
show in photos and text how long ago
the marine animal lived (ammonites
lived 400 million years ago!), the types
of fossils, how they are formed and what
they tell us about the past.
Time-honored egg carton collections
provide the opportunity to have an easy
showcase by newbies and junior collec-
tors alike; first clean, identify, and label
the specimens. Generally, fossils may not
be collected from National Parks, State
Parks, or U.S. Interstate road cuts.
Vertebrate (those with backbones,
like dinosaurs) fossils may not be collect-
ed on any federal or state lands. Every
collector is responsible for determining
legal access to any collecting site.
Typically, these would include road cuts
beside Texas state and county roads
within the accepted public right of way
and navigable streams. Each state is dif-
ferent so do your research!
Alpine: Paisanite. Judith Brueske
(Plimmer) wrote and published The
Desert Candle for over 17 years and in
the April 1989 issue (now out of print)
says, “Should you wish to see some of
this volcanic rock, drive west of Alpine
on Highway 90 about ten miles. Just
past the roadside park is a roadcut, with
yellowish crumbly rock visible, especial-
ly on the north side of the cut.” Not