Category: Articles & Tips

THE CURRANT CREEK FOSSIL QUARRY IS CLOSED AS OF JUNE 12TH. 2009.
There were three green river eocene lakes. Lake Gosiute was probably second largest size, and probably the shallowest, covering a large part of SW Wyoming (maybe 45,000 sq. miles). Lake Uinta was quite large and not too deep covering an area of northern Utah. Fossil Lake was smallest and deepest of the three eocene lakes lying north-south, just west of Kemmerer, western Wyoming. Average ages run from early eocene to late middle eocene for Lake Uinta. Lake Uinta came in part from Lake Flagstaff. Gosiute Lake was in the middle place of the three lakes time wise (46-51 myo) and Fossil Lake near Kemmerer was the last lake and it seems to a few that Fossil Lake and Lake Gosiute were connected and maybe connected more than once.

It would seem from my experience digging both Lake Gosiute and Fossil Lake that the similarity of fishes would indicate the fish swam together at some point(s). Fossil Lake deposits I have dug seem to be volcanic ash filled where the fish bearing layer is and Lake Gosiute is more silted oil shale all seeming more current oriented as if in tidal flats with some minor lake currents possibly caused by stream in filling events included with the volcanic ash falls.

I am not a geologist nor a paleontologist so my field observations should be taken with a grain of fine lake sediment.

Be sure to visit my web site for fun photos of SW Wyoming, and including the blue forest wood area, and the new collection of Wyoming nephrite jade.

Dave Freeman

Rock Springs, Wyoming
307-382-3253
asineops@yahoo.com

http://www.freemansfossilsales.com/aspx