Lake Waco shale pit
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NOTE: This site requires a permit to collect, which can be obtained at the Army Corp of Engineers office below the Lake Waco dam.
What you can find: Plentiful ammonites and small snails, as well as the occasional shark's tooth, fish vertebrae, starfish, and echinoids.
Ease of access: Short walk down a path from parking area.
Equipment needed: Collecting bag, or perhaps a sifting screen if you feel ambitious.
Safety considerations: None
Where, exactly? On Steinbeck Bend Drive, below the Lake Waco Dam. See map below.
What you can find: Plentiful ammonites and small snails, as well as the occasional shark's tooth, fish vertebrae, starfish, and echinoids.
Ease of access: Short walk down a path from parking area.
Equipment needed: Collecting bag, or perhaps a sifting screen if you feel ambitious.
Safety considerations: None
Where, exactly? On Steinbeck Bend Drive, below the Lake Waco Dam. See map below.
The fossils here are all tiny; you won’t find anything larger than a quarter. It used to be a lagoon environment, and has multitudes of ammonites and gastropods, along with fossil sharks teeth, shards of sea urchins, and baculites.
It is best to visit this site during dry weather, because the place turns into a morass of impressively sticky mud the instant it gets wet. I inadvertently collected a few pounds of mud on my clothing and boots while there.
The fossils from here tend to be pyritized, which means a few of them exhibit some gorgeous color when cleaned up. However, the pyrite also makes them susceptible to pyrite disease, so care must be taken to keep them clean and dry in order to preserve them.