When paleontologists recover dinosaur fossils, it’s usually with tools such as a brush, a chisel, a knife, and a probe. You know that fossils aren’t usually an inch or two deep into the sediment, but precisely how deep
When paleontologists recover dinosaur fossils, it’s usually with tools such as a brush, a chisel, a knife, and a probe. You know that fossils aren’t usually an inch or two deep into the sediment, but precisely how deep are they?
The depth of fossils varies depending on how deep in a rock formation the fossils are when they’re uncovered. On record, the deepest fossils were found 2,256 meters under the seabed, where the fossil hadn’t been touched in about 200 million years.
Listen To This Article By Adventure Dinosaurs
If you want to learn more about where dinosaur fossils are usually found in a rock formation, this article is for you. We’ll talk about rock layers and how paleontologists know whether a rock formation has any potential dinosaurs. We’ll even discuss if you could find dinosaur bones on your property and what to do if it ever happens.
Let’s get started!
What Layer of Rock Are Dinosaur Bones Found In?
Suppose you ever get to visit such esteemed dinosaur fossil locations as the Morrison Formation in Colorado or any place like it. In that case, the layers of rock you’ll witness are multi-layered. That’s how these formations develop in the first place.
What will begin as one layer of rock becomes a second, then a third, and sometimes more.
Not all rock is the same. The three types of rock are metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous. Let’s examine the three types now.
The first type of rock is known as metamorphic rock. These rocks undergo metamorphism, which changes the rock’s texture and mineral composition.
The rock that becomes metamorphic rock is originally a protolith, another word for a rock that has yet to undergo metamorphism.
When exposed to temperatures exceeding 300 degrees Fahrenheit and at high pressures, usually over 1,000 bar, the chemical and physical properties of the rock are altered. The rock will stay solid enough, but recrystallization will occur to an extent.
Next, there’s a sedimentary rock, which forms in a fascinating way.
The earth’s surface (or what at the time was the surface) will have organic particles or minerals deposited on it. Then, ions that travel through groundwater will reach the areas from one sedimentary grain to another and develop a crystalline material in texture.
A process that accomplishes this is called cementation. Through cementation, sediment grains are strengthened and bonded together. Hence, sedimentary rocks are formed.
Not all sedimentary rock is the same. Here is an overview of the various types.
- Chemical sedimentary rock: If the mineral constituents of sedimentary rock have a high chemical solution concentration, then chemical sedimentary rock can form. Gypsum, baryte, sylvite, and halite are examples of chemical sedimentary rock.
- Biochemical sedimentary rock: Organisms might grow tissue from materials dissolved in either water or air. For example, diatoms and radiolaria have a silicone skeleton that may leave chert deposits. These deposits are biochemical sedimentary rocks.
- Mudrocks: When sedimentary rock includes clay and silt particles at a rate of 50 percent or higher and the particles have a fine-quality grain, that’s mudrock. Mudrock occurs when air or water moves quickly, spreading the particles and causing them to move outside of their normal suspension.
- Classic sedimentary rock: Classic sedimentary rock formations form when clasts or rock fragments undergo cementation, as described above. The clasts may contain mica, clay minerals, feldspar, or quartz grains.
Dinosaur fossils are most likely found in sedimentary rock of the three rock layers.
Finally, there’s an igneous rock, often referred to as magmatic rock. When lava or magma settles on a surface, it doesn’t burn infinitely. Rather, the lava eventually cools and then becomes igneous rock.
Without igneous rock from oceanic crust to the extended crust, igneous provinces, basins, orogens, platforms, and shields, these geographic structures wouldn’t be possible.
How Do You Know If a Rock Has a Fossil In It?
Paleontologists don’t simply dig up every layer of sedimentary rock, hoping to find dinosaur fossils. That could be massively destructive to structures and formations around the world.
Rather, paleontologists will use drones to survey landscapes that might be viable dinosaur fossil locations but are hard to reach. They can also determine if an area may have fossils through ground-penetrating radar.
Upon digging, the paleontologist will closely study the structure of the rock and decide if it’s worth evaluating and chiseling further.
Here are the criteria that’s used.
Test the Weight
Understanding now how sedimentary rock is formed, you can se