An inventory of Middle Jurassic fossils and their stratigraphic setting at Fossil Point, Tuxedni Bay, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska
Blodgett RB, Hults CP, Stromquist L, Santucci VL, Tweet JS. 2015. An inventory of Middle Jurassic fossils and their stratigraphic setting at Fossil Point, Tuxedni Bay, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska. Natural Resource Report. NPS/LACL/NRR—2015/932. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Fossil Point area on the south side of Tuxedni Bay is situated within Lake Clark National Park & Preserve in south-central Alaska. This aptly named topographic feature contains one of the most productive marine invertebrate fossil sites known in Alaska. Three formations, the Red Glacier Formation, Fitz Creek Siltstone, and Cynthia Falls Sandstone, all elements of the Tuxedni Group, are present in exposures at Fossil Point. Both the Red Glacier Formation and Fitz Creek Siltstone contain exceptionally rich and diverse megainvertebrate faunas with ammonites, bivalves, and belemnites. The fauna was first recognized during the nineteenth century by the geologist Peter Doroschin, who was working in Russian-America during 1848–1852. Eichwald (1871), working with Doroschin’s collections which were sent to Saint Petersburg, provided some of the first descriptions and illustrations of Jurassic fauna from western North America. The most obvious fossils seen when visiting Fossil Point are the large and abundant inoceramid bivalves belonging to the genus Retroceramus. A field study was conducted during August 2014 by the National Park Service of the paleontological and stratigraphical setting of strata exposed at Fossil Point. A large number of fossils were collected and stratigraphic control for the fossils was completed by measuring a detailed stratigraphic section. The fossil collection will be housed at the NPS Alaska Region Curatorial Center (Accession number LACL-00457, Catalog numbers 9362-9461), so that the fossils will be available to the public and park staff for research and education. This report includes an inventory of all invertebrate taxa we observed, and an atlas is provided as Appendix F illustrating the fauna, both from our own photographs as well as illustrations given by previous workers (E. von Eichwald and Ralph W. Imlay).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Blodgett, Robert; Hults, Chad; Stromquist, Linda; Santucci, Vincent; Tweet, Justin
- Date of Issue
- 2015-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- LACL , NRSS , SWAN
- Keywords
- ammonites, belemnites, Bivalves, Cynthia Falls Sandstone, Fitz Creek Siltstone, Red Glacier Formation, Tuxedni Bay, Tuxednia Group
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Paleontology | Paleontology