PEMBINA GORGE FOSSIL DIG 2001

[Mickey Rowe <rowe@psych.ucsb.edu>]

Melanie isn't subscribed to this list, but my guts tell me at least
some of you won't mind hearing about this opportunity, so I forward it
on her behalf:

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From: "Melanie Thornberg" <walhallafossildig@hotmail.com>
Subject: PEMBINA GORGE FOSSIL DIG 2001 
Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2001 08:48:03 -0500

(Could this information please be circulated to your members since
Dr. John Hoganson is a member of the Society?  Thanks!)

For Immediate Release:

SCIENTIFIC FOSSIL EXCAVATIONS SLATED TO TAKE PLACE IN THE PEMBINA GORGE
WEST OF WALHALLA, NORTH DAKOTA, JULY 14-23, 2001

     Scientific fossil excavations will once again be held in the
Pembina Gorge west of Walhalla, North Dakota, in mid-July.  The public
fossil digs are co-sponsored by the North Dakota Geological Survey,
the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, the North Dakota
Department of Tourism and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

     Dr. John Hoganson, North Dakota Geological Survey Paleontologist,
and Johnathan Campbell, the Survey's Fossil Preparator, will direct
the fossil excavations.

     Over 50 fossil diggers participated in last year's first-ever
public digs in North Dakota.  Participants came from one foreign
country ~~ Norway ~~ and eight states:  Texas, Virginia, Washington,
Arizona, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota.

     The dates for this year's fossil digs are as follows:

     THREE-DAY DIG:    July 14, 15, 16    (Saturday, Sunday and Monday)
     TWO-DAY DIGS:     July 18 and 19     (Wednesday and Thursday)
                       July 21 and 22     (Saturday and Sunday)
     ONE-DAY DIGS:     July 17            (Tuesday)
                       July 20            (Friday)
     FAMILY DAY DIG:   July 23            (Monday)

     This year, a new "Family Day Dig" has been added for Monday,
July 23; children must be between the ages of 7 and 11 to participate
in the "Family Day Dig."  During the other nine days of the dig,
children must be between the ages of 12 and 18; they also must be
accompanied by an adult.

     During last year's dig, the fossilized remains of a giant squid,
Tusoteuthis longa, were discovered by Steve Ziegler of Bemidji,
Minnesota, and Kathy Garceau of Garland, Texas.  This was the first
giant squid ever found in North Dakota.

     In addition to the giant squid, the fossilized remains of a number
of other marine Cretaceous creatures were found at the 80-million-year-
old site, including:

     VERTEBRATES:
            Mosasaurs             (Plioplatecarpus)
            Cow Sharks            (Squalicorax)
            Sea Birds             (Hesperornis)
            Sea Turtles           (Toxochelys)
            Sand-Tiger Sharks     (Carcharias)
            Bulldog Tarpons       (Xiphactinus)
            Salmon-like Fish      (Enchodus)
            Barracuda-like Fish   (Stratodus apicalis)
     INVERTEBRATES:
            Cephalopods           (Clinoscaphites chateauensis)
            Clams                 (Inoceramus)
            Oysters               (Pseudoperma congesta)

     Since the excavations will be taking place on State-owned lands,
all fossils collected during the digs will be curated into the
North Dakota State Fossil Collection; eventually the major fossil
discoveries will be on display in the Rendezvous Region of Northeastern
North Dakota.

     For further information regarding the Pembina Gorge Fossil Dig,
please contact:

Melanie Thornberg
SOLI'S PEMBINA GORGE TOURS
Box 400
Walhalla, North Dakota 58282
e-mail:  walhallafossildig@hotmail.com
webpage:  http://state.nd.us/ndfossils/dig/pembina.html
phone:   1-701-549-2627

                                ~ 30 ~

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

MEDIA INTERVIEWS:

      For media interviews, please contact:

          Dr. John Hoganson, Paleontologist
          North Dakota Geological Survey
          e-mail:    jhoganso@state.nd.us
          phone:     1-701-328-8006
          fax:       1-701-328-8010

THE PEMBINA GORGE:

The 12,500-acre Pembina Gorge was carved by surging waters that
created a rugged, deep ravine that has now become a biological
crossroads of the Great Plains.  An enormous swathe of forest
is nestled in a transition zone where three different biogeographical
biomes have come together -- eastern deciduous forest, boreal forest
and central grasslands.  Fourteen natural communities have flourished
in this pristine environment; because the area has remained largely
undeveloped, the Pembina Gorge has become the most floristically
diverse area in the entire State of North Dakota.

The Gorge is home to the most extensive oak woodlands in the State,
the most extensive wetland thickets and notable avifauna in the
State, the greatest development of birch woodlands in the State,
the least locally disturbed river system in the State, the oldest
exposed geological rock formations in the State, and the oldest
fossils ever discovered in the State.

Over 80 species of breeding birds have been discovered in the Pembina
Gorge, and at least 50 "rare" flora and fauna species have also been
found in the area.  The State's only naturally-occurring elk herd can
be found in the Gorge, along with moose, deer, coyotes, bald eagles,
hawks, bears and wild turkeys.

MOSASAUR FOSSIL SITE:

Rocks from the Carlile, Niobrara and Pierre Formations are exposed
in various road cuts through the Pembina Gorge.  These rocks were
deposited in the Western Interior Seaway that covered the interior
of the North American continent during the Late Cretaceous geologic
time period from about 90 million to 80 million years ago.


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