A Few Trace Fossils in Potsdam Group Sandstones of Eastern Ontario

The Potsdam Group sandstones and conglomerates generally form the basal layer of Paleozoic rocks overlying the Precambrian Shield in Eastern Ontario. The sandstones are thought to be middle to upper Cambrian in age, are generally barren of body fossils (they yield the occasional Brachiopod), but contain abundant trace fossils. The most common trace fossils found in the Potsdam Group sandstones in Lanark County are worm burrows, including burrows perpendicular to the bedding plane (with Diplocraterion and Skolithos being the most common that I've found) and burrows parallel to the bedding plane. (My posting on October 1, 2012 is a field trip to eight outcrops near Perth, where seven of the outcrops are Potsdam Group sandstones that exhibit mostly Diplocraterion but also  possible Arenicolites burrows.) The most famous trace fossils to come out of Lanark County are Climactichnites trails and Protichnites trackways. However, only one quarry in Lanark County has yielded those fossils.

The Potsdam Group sandstones outcrop south of Perth down towards Brockville and down towards Kingston. Those sandstones also exhibit trace fossils, with the sandstones near Sunbury yielding museum quality specimens of Protichnites trackways and Climactichnites trails.

This past weekend I headed south to take photographs of sandstone outcrops, noted some interesting trace fossils, and went back yesterday to collect a slab of rock. Below are a few of my photos of slabs of rock found south of Lanark County.

The first two photos, Sam_0382 and Sam_0383  show a ridge that I suspect is a surface trail beside ripple marks,  where the ridge is similar to the pushed up  lateral ridge for a Climactichnites trail. (The ridge is a surface feature.)

The next three photos, Sam_0354 , Sam_0356  and Sam_0361, are from the same slab .   These show a trace fossil that is a trackway that  extends across the slab .  It is arguably the trace fossil Diplopodichnus, which is a trackway consisting of a pair of longitudinally continuous lateral furrows.

The next two photos, Sam_0358 and Sam_0359, were taken of a different slab of rock, and show two curved grooves. If a reader can provide a name to attach to this trace, please let me know.  My best guess: a bilobate trace, which consists of an  meandering trench bounded by a ridge of excavated sediment on either side.

The last  photo, Sam_0379, shows a narrow burrow parallel to the bedding surface of a different slab  where the burrow cuts across ripple marks.  This burrow is more like a cylinder or tube.

The above photos are of loose slabs of rocks at an outlier   that was mapped as part of the Covey Hill Formation of the Potsdam Group in 2010 by B.V. Sanford and R.W.C. Arnott. (Stratigraphic and structural framework of the Potsdam Group in eastern Ontario, western Quebec, and northern New York State; Sanford, B. V. and Arnott, R. W. C. (2010); Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 597, 2010)


Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario

(July 12th Addendum:   Since posting the above I have been contacted by a friend who is studying the Potsdam Group, who has told me that in addition to the Chippewa Bay member of the Covey Hill Formation  this outlier also exhibits a younger facies similar to the Nepean Formation near Ottawa, with an angular erosional unconformity between the two.   Accordingly, I may have been wrong in assigning the specimens that I collected to the Covey Hill Formation. ]

Perthite, Part 2

In my posting last January 14^th I set out where to find what is believed to be the type locality for Perthite.

In February I received an email from Luis Sánchez-Muñoz, a researcher with the Institute for Ceramics and Glasses in Madrid, Spain, who identified himself as a geologist who had being doing research on alkali feldspars from pegmatites since 1989, said that he would be visiting Ontario and Quebec to collect specimens of alkali feldspars from famous pegmatites, and that he would be visiting to collect specimens from the type locality. Later I received an email saying he would be joined by Professor Robert Martin of McGill University.  On June 5^th I was pleased to welcome them to Perth and provide them with a selection of specimens of Perthite from which to choose. Surprisingly, Luis Sánchez-Muñoz only wanted two. Not surprisingly, he chose two specimens showing two directions of good cleavage.

For those interested in perthitic feldspars a recent paper by Luis Sánchez-Muñoz and a number of co-authors is available over the internet. The paper is entitled The Evolution of Twin Patterns in Perthitic K-Feldspar from Granitic Pegmatites, and was published in the August, 2012 edition of The Canadian Mineralogist, Volume 50, No. 4, pages 989-1024. Figure 21, which is a schematic model for a ten stage general evolutionary sequence of transformations in perthitic K-rich feldspar, with indications of twinning and exsolution, and the explanation in the paper, are interesting, as the authors develop a process that ties the development of twinning patterns into the formation of exsolved Albite.

Luis Sánchez-Muñoz and Professor Martin mentioned that they hoped to visit a number of other pegmatite localities in Lanark County, including the famous Bathurst mine. Readers who are mineral collectors will be likely be aware of the mine, as it was Ontario’s second largest feldspar mine (producing 106,018 tons of feldspar), is listed in at least two of Ann Sabina’s mineral collecting guidebooks, and is easily accessible from Perth. (It is on the northeast side of Old Mine Road, which connects McVeigh Road to Bathurst 9^th Concession Road.) It has been forty years since I was there, and I can’t help thinking that it’s probably worth a visit, as it is only 12 kilometers from Perth and there are at least four other abandoned feldspar mines in pegmatites in that area.

When they left I could not help wondering if Professor Martin knew what he had signed up for. An article on the web describes a visit in August of 2010 by Dr. Luis Sánchez- Muñoz to Colorado, where he visited 23 pegamites in five days in pursuit of samples of microcline feldspar. (See: Twenty three pegmatites in five Days, a Colorado field trip saga by Peter J. Modreski and Luis Sanchez-Munoz, an Abstract at the 32nd Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium
http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/museum/minsymp/abstracts/view.cfml?aid=378 )

Since I posted my blog last January, two points on Perthite have caught my eye. First, I was scanning the second edition of Deer, Howie & Zussman’s book Rock-Forming Minerals, Volume 4A, Framework Silcates - Feldspars, and couldn’t help but notice that they mention (at page 5) that "Perthite takes its name from Perth, Quebec, an early locality." That statement is of course wrong, as Perthite takes its name from Perth, Ontario.

Second, I noticed an analysis and description of Perthite from the type locality near Perth, Ontario in an article by Charles H Warren entitled A Quantitative Study of Certain Perthitic Feldspars, that was published in 1915 in Volume 51 of the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Science, starting at page 139. In his paper Charles Warren compared specimens of Perthite from two localities in Canada, four in the United States and two in Finland. This is Charles Warren’s analysis of Perthite from the type locality near Perth:

SiO₂         66.50
Al₂O₃      18.40
Fe₂O₃        1.05
MnO       Trace
MgO          .07
CaO           .03
K₂O        8.77
Na₂O      5.40
H₂O         .20
Total   100.69      Sp. Gr. 2.597


He estimated that it contained 51.9% Microcline by weight and 47.3% Albite by weight.

Charles Warren provided this description of his specimen from Perth, Ontario:

"This specimen, from the original locality, is the richest in albite of any of the feldspars studied. It consists of a rather dark reddish-brown microcline intergrown with about an equal amount of a light red to almost white albite. The red color is due to the presence of exceedingly minute crystal scales of hematite which are chiefly contained to the microcline. They are usually arranged along definite crystallographic directions. Some hematite is found along fractures in the albite, or is more irregularly placed. ... The albite lamellae seldom exceed 1mm isn width while a commonly observed width is 0.5 mm. The microcline bands will in general average broader than the albite. The orientation of the bands is fairly uniform parallel to the usual direction, but there is a common tendency to bend off toward the direction of the prism and often many short bands coalesce along this same direction. Pinching and swelling, branching and coalescing, often in a very complex fashion, are common particularly in certain areas. The albite forms minutely pointed surfaces of contact with the microcline as a rule. The microcline sometimes shows very distinct polysynthetic twinning but more often this is faintly developed and is often not visible at all."

Charles Warren was limited by the technology of his day: microscopic viewing of thin sections, and chemical analysis of bulk samples. It will be interesting to see what Luis Sánchez- Muñoz finds with current analytical techniques: polarized light optical microscopy, electron probe micro-analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cathodluminescence imaging, micro-Ramon spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance, all techniques mentioned in his paper that I referred to above. It was nice to assist a visitor from Spain, and it will be interesting to read the results of his research.

Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario

On the trail of Climactichnites wilsoni - Part 3: A quarry about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859

I have found an overgrown, abandoned small quarry that is about a mile from the town of Perth as the town existed in 1859 at the edge of the Blueberry Marsh on property that was owned in 1859 by Mr. James Glen, and that lies in Concession III of Drummond Township. The rock in the quarry is flat lying white Nepean sandstone (Potsdam Group). Is this the quarry described by Sir William Logan where Dr. James Wilson and Mr. Richardson collected specimens of Climatichnites and Protichnites in the period from 1859 to 1882? Possibly. One side of the quarry is a sandstone ridge about 1.5 meters high and at least 15 meters long. Three other sides of the quarry meld into the Blueberry Marsh. The base of the quarry is about 15 meters by 10 meters and when I found the quarry this past winter was flooded and frozen. The owner of the property tells me that the base of the quarry, which in summer is a pond, is over a meter deep, half filled with water and half filled with silt.

The following photograph shows the quarry on January 27.

According to the present owner of the property, rock from the quarry was used to build the sandstone farmhouse that is on the property. Another source reports that the farmhouse, identified in that publication as the "Glenn House", was constructed in 1848. Current residents of Perth would identify the farmhouse as the Ryan Farm, as the Ryan family farmed the property for many years and still occupy the farmhouse. In the mid-1800's various families with the surname Glen farmed the property and it was known as the Glen House.

The following photograph shows the quarry on February 1.

The quarry meets the following criteria set out in Logan (1860) and (1863):   it is composed of fine grained Potsdam Sandstone (which in Ontario we would now call the Nepean Formation of the Potsdam Group), the quarry is at least three feet deep, the beds in the quarry are flat lying, the quarry is about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859, the owner of the property in 1859 was either Mr. Glyn (Logan 1860) or Mr. Glen (Logan 1863), and the quarry is in Concession III of Drummond Township. The quarry is not in Lot 6 of Concession III, where Logan (1863) said the quarry was located, but in Lot 3. However, as noted in my blog posting that is part 2 of this series, Sir William Logan never visited the quarry, neither Mr. Glyn nor Mr. Glen owned property in Lot 6, and the most recent geologic mapping of Lot 6 suggests that Lot 6 is March Formation rather than Nepean sandstone .


The quarry also meets the following criteria for the quarry set out in an article written for Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society in about 1900: it is in the Blueberry Marsh on property owned by Mr. James Glen when Dr. James Wilson first found the specimens that Sir William Logan later named Climactichnites Wilsoni.

While I believe that this is likely the quarry that yielded the first slabs with Climactichnites wilsoni, it can only be verified as that quarry if it yields additional specimens of Climactichnites wilsoni (or perhaps Protichnites).  

When I visited the quarry the last week of January and first week of February the ground was frozen and partially covered by snow. It was not possible to pry specimens out of the ground or moss off the rocks. A later snowfall buried the quarry in over a foot (30 cm) of snow. Two weeks ago the property owner allowed me to take a group of geologists to visit the quarry, and the five of us spent two hours stripping moss and soil, and then examining the rock that we had exposed. This introductory search did not reveal the trace fossils of most interest. The problem is that the quarry is overgrown and covered in soil and moss, and we do not know the layer where the trace fossils of interest can be found. We stripped away some of the soil and moss, which is generally about 3 - 8 cm thick, uncovering about 4 to 6 square meters of horizontal and vertical surface. In the sandstone we found vertical worm holes, which Dr. Donaldson identified as skolithos, and some small angular features that he thought might be traces of parts of microbial mats. There is very little overburden and glacial striae are visible on the surface rock. Cross-bedding is visible in one section of sandstone.

Below are three photographs that I took while at the quarry on April 23^rd. The first shows Dave Lowe at an initial stage of pulling moss and soil off the ridge that is a side of the quarry. The second shows Dr. Dalrymple, Dr. Donaldson and Dave Lowe examining an area that had been cleaned. The third shows what might be the most interesting feature that we uncovered: a lensoid/wedge shaped vug on a vertical rock face, with a v-shaped feature running off the bottom right hand side. The v-shape is possibly a trace of a burrow. The lensoid/wedge shape is open to various interpretations. What it is not is a cross-section of a climactichnites wilsoni track. I suggested a burrow, but thus far no one has agreed.

Getty  and   Hagadorn (2008)  recognized two behavioral variants of Climactichnites, with Climactichnites wilsoni  representing surface-produced trails, while Climactichnites youngi represents burrows produced below the surface. Figure 6  in Getty and Hagadorn (2008) shows three photographs of a Climactichnites youngi specimen from Quebec.  Their third photograph is a cross section of the Climactichnites youngi burrow, which appears as a lensoid wedge-shaped sediment infill, much like my photo above. 

Only further investigation will reveal whether the quarry that I have found is the one where Dr. James Wilson first found the trace fossil Climactichnites. However, it fits many of the criteria laid down by Sir William Logan and represents a good chance at being the quarry.

Below I have laid out how I found the quarry.

While searching for quarries in Drummond Township I looked at the book A History of Drummond Township, by John C. Ebbs, published in 1999. In the chapter entitled Fine Stone Homes of Drummond, Ebbs mentions a stone house on the E1/2 Lot 3, Concession 3 and that "It is believed the house was built by the owner, Mr. Glenn, c. 1848." No photo of the house appeared in the book. Driving around the southern third of Lot 3 I found an old stone house on the north side of Dufferin Road on the west half of Lot 3 that I thought might be the old ‘Glenn’ house. The house is constructed of white sandstone. Below is a photograph of the farmhouse. Stones in the walls exhibit the trace fossil diplocraterion.

I looked at the Registry Act pages for Lot 3, Concession III for the Township of Drummond. The Registry page for the West Half of Lot 3, Concession III reveals: (A) that by Quit Claim Deed dated March 12, 1844 Roderick Matheson granted to James Glen the North east half of the west half of lot 3; and (B) that by separate deeds dated from 1831 to 1845 Oliver Glen acquired other parts of the west half of lot 3. Their presence on Lot 3 is confirmed by the 1851 census for Canada West (now Ontario), which I found online, which shows that James Glen owned 76 acres and Oliver Glen owned 24 acres in Lot 3, Concession III of Drummond Township.

While at the Lanark Archives in Drummond Center in early January I was shown an article by Clyde Bell in a 1963 edition of the Perth Courier. Clyde Bell, at the time he wrote the article, was the Perth Museum’s director of information. Most of the article talked about Dr. James Wilson and the founding of the Perth Museum by Archie Campbell. Part of this article talked about Dr. James Wilson making a discovery on a farm belonging to John Glenn, in the blueberry marsh, of a fossil that was identified in Montreal as a mammoth mollusc. While some parts of the article are a bit bizarre, it seemed to describe the finding of Climactichnites, and to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. The article concluded with Clyde Bell commenting "And by the way, we would like to know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by John Glenn." When I read that article I wondered if"John Glenn" was a mistaken reference to the U.S. astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth. In all likelihood it was, as John Glenn orbited the earth in 1962.

Subsequently I Googled key words from Clyde Bell’s article. This turned up a very similar article on The Lanark County Genealogical Society’s web page. The article is entitled Mining in Lanark County and bears the comment "This undated, unsigned typescript was probably written for the Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society, about 1900." A small part of that article describes the finding of Climactichnites, and again (and, more believably, given its date) appears to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman, Mr. John Hart, who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. One point that is worth noting is that while Clyde Bell’s article referred to the farm of "John Glenn", the original article from about 1900 referred to the farm of "James Glenn." Here is the part of the original article from "about 1900" that deals with the finding of Climactichnites:

"Dr. Wilson's practice led him over a large range of country. He took his hammer with him, and many a bag of stones was brought in for him by the farmers. Some of these he sent to the museum in Montreal, and they have since been removed with the rest of the collection to Ottawa.

What was to him his greatest discovery, was made on the farm of James Glenn. It is supposed the famous blueberry marsh was once a lake. The centre of it is depressed, and the hard ground surrounding it shows signs of ripple marks in thin strata from an inch or less to three inches in thickness. In these the Doctor thought he saw the trunks of fallen trees of a tropical climate. ... He sent specimens ten feet high to Montreal, which were examined by experts and declared to be something, that translated means "first tracks", the tracks of some mammoth mollusc."

I believe that article describes the large specimen of Climactichnites collected by Mr. Richardson in 1859 that hung in Sir William Logan’s office and measured about 10 feet by 7 feet.

If Clyde Bell had framed his question "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by James Glenn?" or as "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township adjacent to the Blueberry Marsh was formerly owned by James Glenn at the time Dr. Wilson found the first specimens of Climactichnites?" perhaps he would have received the answer that a "James Glen" had owned such a farm on the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III.

I decided to test my belief that it was worth looking for a quarry on property that was owned after 1844 by James Glen that falls in the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III, Drummond Township where the Blueberry Marsh encroaches on the farm, and identified the most likely location using Google Satellite view. On a sunny, refreshing (minus 11 degrees Celsius) day in January I went for a hike to look for a quarry in the Blueberry Marsh and within a few minutes of arriving at the spot I had identified, found angular pieces of fine grained white sandstone and the side of what I believed to be an overgrown, moss encrusted, shallow quarry. The snow, ice, frozen moss and frozen ground made looking for specimens difficult, and I found none exhibiting Climactichnites or Protichnites. After a few warm days at the end of January had melted more of the snow, I went back on a frigid day in February to again visit the quarry and take additional photographs.

I should add that my wife accompanied me on my first visit to the quarry in late January. While I had asked four others whether they wanted to go for a hike in the Blueberry Marsh to look for a quarry, all of them were too busy, and a few were busy until April. And there wasn’t even that much snow on the ground.

Further visits to the quarry are planned with a number of geologists that have expressed an interest in visiting the quarry. I will post if we find the trace fossils of most interest.

Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario

[Addendum: April 26, 2023: I added the references to Getty and Hagadorn's paper.]

Reference

Getty, Patrick Ryan and James W. Hagadorn, 2008

Reinterpretation of Climactichnites Logan 1860 to Include Subsurface Burrows, and Erection of Musculopodus for Resting Traces of the Trailmaker. Journal of Paleontology Vol. 82, No. 6 (Nov., 2008), pp. 1161-1172

Glacial Erratics and Eskers in the Township of Lanark Highlands, Lanark County, Ontario

About 79 thousand years ago the Wisconsin ice age started, glaciers formed, advanced and retreated, and at their maximum extent covered most of Canada and extended down into the United States. Lanark County was covered by a glacier two kilometers in thickness. When the glaciers finally retreated from Eastern Ontario about 11,000 years ago they left behind ample evidence of their former presence in Lanark County including eskers, glacial till, glacial striae and glacial erratics.

One of the best places in Lanark County to see evidence of the glaciers is in the Township of Lanark Highlands, particularly along County Road 12 from Playfairville to McDonalds Corners, and along Highland Line, a road off County Road 12 that takes one to Wheelers Pancake House, Sugar Bush and Maple Syrup Museum. At least four commercial sand pits are visible when driving along County Road 12 and Highland Line. The sand in these deposits was left by the glaciers, probably as eskers and fluvioglacial deposits. Also of interest are the glacial erratics that are strewn around the countryside. The hiking trails at Wheelers, which are open year round, provide ample opportunities to view the glacial erratics. The hiking trail that starts directly behind Wheelers Maple Heritage Museum exhibits hundreds of rounded erratics, many in the order of a meter in diameter. However, the largest erratics can be found adjacent to the road into Wheelers. The photographs below show some of the bigger erratics. The person in the photographs is just under five feet (1.5 meters) tall.

The restaurant at Wheelers, the Maple Heritage Museum, a second Museum displaying Vern Wheeler’s collection of over 300 ‘antique’ chainsaws, and the hiking trails are all open year round, seven days a week, from 9 am to 3 pm.  

 Wheelers is worth a visit just for the pancakes and maple sausage. It’s worth visiting to see the two museums. It’s worth a visit if you like to hike (particularly in the fall when the leaves are changing colour). And it is worth a visit if you are interested in glacial erratics and glacial deposits. There is no doubt that the best time to visit Wheeler’s is when the sap is running in the spring, and maple syrup is being made. I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone in Lanark County who has not been to Wheelers for a pancake breakfast. However, the best time to see the glacial erratics is after the snow has melted.

Here is a link to Wheelers: http://www.wheelersmaple.com/

The surficial geology of much of Lanark County was mapped by the Geological Survey of Canada a little over two decades ago. The sand deposits around Wheelers were mapped as glacialfluvial deposits (stratified sediments deposited at or near the glacier margin by meltwater streams). Below are extracts from two maps of the surficial geology issued in 1992 by the Geological Survey of Canada. The first extract shows the surficial geology along County Road 12 running from Playfairville to McDonalds Corners (which is off the left hand margin of the first extract) . The esker that appears on the map as a row of chevrons can be seen from the road. The second extract is to the west of the first and shows the continuation of the esker south of County Road 12 and running roughly following Highland Line towards Wheelers (which is marked on the map with a "W" in a white box).

On the maps the Unit R (light pink) is Precambrian Rock; Unit 1a (dark green) is a Glacial till blanket; Unit 1b (light green) is a Glacial Till Veneer; Unit 4b (dark purple) is Littoral and Nearshore Glaciolacustrine Deposits (gravel, sand, clay); and Unit 7 (grey) is Organic deposits (i.e., muck, peat, bogs, fens, swamp).


Download Sites for Maps
If anyone is interested in looking at the whole of the maps, they can be downloaded free of charge from the Geological Survey of Canada Web site.

Surficial Geology, Perth, Ontario
Kettles, I M (1992), Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1800A,
doi:10.4095/183815

Surficial Geology, Sharbot Lake, Ontario
Henderson, P J, and Kettles, I M (1992)
Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1799A,
http://geogratis.gc.ca/api/en/nrcan-rncan/ess-sst/f1c68435-ee75-51cf-bf46-d8cc6a4ffd2e.html

Anyone wanting to look at the maps as an overlay on Google Earth should consult:
http://www.ontario.ca/rural-and-north/surficial-geology-southern-ontario
Surficial Geology of Southern Ontario
This provides a layer on Google Earth which depicts the distribution and characteristics of surficial deposits across southern Ontario.


Further Reading
The following publications discuss glaciation in Eastern Ontario.

Quaternary History of Eastern Ontario: Impacts on Physical Landscape and Biota
Stephen C. Lougheed and Natalie Morrill
http://opinicon.wordpress.com/physical-environment/quaternary/

Barnett, P. J. (1992), Quaternary Geology of Ontario, Chapter 21 in Geology of Ontario, Special Volume 4, Part 2
Ontario Geological Survey, Special Publication, SV04-02
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/SV04-02/SV04-02.pdf

Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario

Sources for Geologic Maps of Lanark County and Eastern Ontario

This posting sets out the where one can obtain geologic maps of Lanark County and adjoining parts of Eastern Ontario. It concentrates on online sources for the maps.

Ontario Geological Survey
The best source for geologic maps issued by Ontario Geological Survey is the web page listing OGS Publication Types, which can be found at:

http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/gosportal/GeologyOntarioFAST/pubs/pub_index.html

Maps and publications are free to download from this site. The maps and publications are indexed under a Series Code. The Following "P" series maps are useful:

P2723 - Paleozoic geology, Westport area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2723/P273.pdf

P2724 - Paleozoic geology, Perth area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2724/P2724.pdf

P2725 - Paleozoic geology, Carleton Place area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2725/P2725.pdf

P2726 - Paleozoic geology, Arnprior-Quyon area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2726/P2726.pdf

P2493 - Paleozoic geology of the Kemptville area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2493/P2493.pdf

P2494 - Paleozoic geology of the Merrickville area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2494/P2494.pdf

P2495 - Paleozoic geology of the Brockville-Mallorytown area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2495/P2495.pdf

P2496 - Paleozoic geology of the Gananoque-Wolfe Island area, southern Ontario
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2496/P2496.pdf

P 2611 - Geology and Mineral Deposits of the Kingston area, southern Ontario; 1985 , scale 1:250 000.
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2611/P2611.pdf

P2621 - Sand and gravel assessment, Lanark County, north half
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2621/P2621.pdf


P2622 - Sand and gravel assessment, Lanark County, south half
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/P2622/P2622.pdf


Anyone that wants a paper copy of one of those maps can obtain the map from Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. The cost last year was $2 per map plus $5 for shipping. Their contact information is:

MNDM Publication Sales
933 Ramsey Lake Rd., Level A-3
Sudbury, Ontario P3E 6B5
Local: (705) 670-5691
Toll-Free: 1-888-415-9845, ext. 5691 (inside Canada, United States)
Fax: 705-670-5770
Pubsales.ndm@ontario.ca
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Other maps of interest that can be obtained from the Ontario Geological Survey are M1 1900 series , M2 2000 series and M5 5000 series maps:


M1956-04 - Clarendon-Dalhousie-Darling area, counties of Frontenac and Lanark
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/M1956-04/M1956-04.pdf

M2515 - Precambrian geology, Lavant area, Frontenac and Lanark counties
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/M2515/M2515.pdf

M2544 - Bedrock geology of Ontario, southern sheet
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/M2544/M2544.pdf

M2545 - Bedrock geology of Ontario, explanatory notes and legend
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/M2545/M2545.pdf

M2556 - Quaternary geology of Ontario, southern sheet
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/M2556/M2556.pdf


M5511 - Renfrew, NTS 31F/SE, data base map, southern Ontario engineering geology terrain study
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/M5511/M5511.pdf

M5512 - Renfrew, NTS 31F/SE, engineering capability map, southern Ontario engineering geology terrain study

M5513 - Ottawa, NTS 31G/SW and part of NTS 31G/NW, data base map, southern Ontario engineering geology terrain study

M5514 - Vankleek Hill, NTS 31G/SE and part of NTS 31G/NE, data base map, southern Ontario engineering geology terrain study

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Geological Survey of Canada
The best online source for publications and maps issued by the Geological Survey of Canada is  the GEOSCAN: Publications database, which can be found at:

http://geoscan.ess.nrcan.gc.ca/starweb/geoscan/servlet.starweb?path=geoscan/geoscan_e.web

The following maps are useful. Googling the digital object identifier (e.g., doi:10.4095/107951), including "doi:", will take one directly to the download site for the map.

Geology Perth, Lanark and Leeds Counties, Ontario
Wilson, M E; Dugas, J; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 1089A, 1961; 1 sheet;   doi:10.4095/107951

Renfrew, Renfrew and Lanark Counties, Ontario
Quinn, H A; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 1046A, 1956; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107619

Nepean, Carleton, Lanark, Grenville, Dundas, Gatineau and Papineau Counties, Ontario and Québec
Wilson, A E; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 588A, 1940; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107428

Province of Ontario, parts of counties of Renfrew, Lanark, Lennox, Addington, Frontenac and Carleton (Perth sheet no 119)
Ells, R W; Geological Survey of Canada, Multicoloured Geological Map no. 789, 1904; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107516

Map showing the occurrences of iron ores and other minerals in portions of the counties of Frontenac, Lanark, Renfrew and Leeds, Ontario
Ells, R W; White, J; Geological Survey of Canada, Multicoloured Geological Map 626, 1900; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/108087


Map of Lanark County and parts of Renfrew and Leeds, Ontario
Geological Survey of Canada; Geological Survey of Canada, Multicoloured Geological Map 103, 1875; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/214374
　
Surficial Geology, Perth, Ontario
Kettles, I M; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 1800A, 1992; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/183815

Geology Westport, Ontario
Wynne-Edwards, H R; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 1182A, 1967; 1 sheet; 1 CD-ROM, doi:10.4095/108032

Geology, Tichborne, Ontario
Wynne-edwards, H R; Geological Survey of Canada, Preliminary Map 33-1964, 1965; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/108606

Geology, Brockville-Mallorytown area, Ontario
Wynne-Edwards, H R; Geological Survey of Canada, Preliminary Map 7-1963, 1963; 1 sheet; , doi:10.4095/108670

Geology, Gananoque, Ontario
Wynne-Edwards, H R; Geological Survey of Canada, Preliminary Map 27-1962, 1962; 1 sheet; doi:10.4095/108828

Geological map of eastern Ontario, western Quebec, and northern New York State,
 by Sanford, B V; Arnott, R W C;  Figure 3  in Stratigraphic and structural framework of the Potsdam Group in eastern Ontario, western Quebec, and northern New York State; Sanford, B V; Arnot, R W C; Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin no. 597, 2009; 1 sheet; doi:10.4095/247673

Geology, Carleton Place, Ontario
Reinhardt, E W; Wilson, A E; Liberty, B A; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 1362A, 1973; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/109147

Ottawa, Carleton, Gatineau, and Papineau Counties, Ontario and Québec
Wilson, A E; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 1038A, 1954; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107547

Ottawa-Cornwall, Ontario and Québec
Wilson, A E; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 710A, 1942; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107616

Prescott, Ontario
Wilson, A E; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 852A, 1946; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107544

Ottawa Sheet, East Half, Carleton and Hull Counties, Ontario and Quebec
Wilson, A E; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 413A, 1938; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107511

Ottawa Sheet, West Half, Carleton and Hull Counties, Ontario and Quebec
Wilson, A E; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 414A, 1938; 1 sheet, doi:10.4095/107545
　

Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario

On the trail of Climactichnites wilsoni - Part 2: References to the Quarry Near Perth in the Scientific Literature, and the Geologic Mapping of Lot 6

The first part of this series on Climactichnites wilsoni covered the announcement of the finding of the fossil, described the specimens that were collected by Dr. James Wilson and Mr. Richardson from the quarry near Perth, and set out that the specimens can be found in the collections of the Perth Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Redpath Museum in Montreal, the Geological Survey of Canada and the National Museum of Scotland. This posting covers the references to the quarry in the scientific literature, covers the geologic mapping of the Paleozoic rocks where the quarry is thought to be located, and sets out why people have looked in Lot 6, Concession III of Drummond Township.

All of the specimens that collected from the quarry near Perth were collected in the period from 1859 to 1882. Unfortunately, for over 130 years no one obtained fossils from the quarry near Perth that was the source for both the trace fossil Climactichnites and the trace fossil Protichnites, as the quarry could not be found. Most people who have searched for the quarry have looked in Lot 6, Concession III of Drummond Township (now within the municipality of Drummond/North Elmsley Township), because this is where Sir William Logan said the quarry was located. Like many others before me, I have walked and driven around Lot 6 looking for a quarry. Not only is there no quarry, there are no outcrops on Lot 6.


The Blueberry Marsh encroaches slightly upon the northern edge of the lot and the Long Swamp covers the southern third  to a half of the lot. Most of the remainder of Lot 6 is now covered with houses, landscaped lots, a large retail outlet for Hillside Gardens, a commercial greenhouse, which is about in the center of the lot, and a car dealership (Hinton’s) on the eastern half of the lot. A plot of land to the northeast of Hinton’s is covered with fill. A farm still occupies the northeastern eighth of the lot. The boundary between Lot 6 and Lot 5 is an unopened concession road, as is the boundary between Lot 6 in Concession III and Lot 6 in Concession IV. The northern part of the boundary between Lot 6 and Lot 5 is marked by an overgrown cedar fence/hedgerow crowded with hawthorn trees and poison ivy. Along that fence, and partially hidden by the hawthorn trees, are angular slabs (some measuring three feet by three feet by two feet thick) of badly eroded sandstone. These angular slabs are the only possible evidence of a quarry that I have seen. (Rounded boulders are the norm along fences in Lanark County, not angular blocks of sandstone.)

Last April I attended an invigorating talk delivered by Michael Bainbridge, Recreational Geology Project Co-ordinator for the Ontario Highlands Tourism Office, where Michael discussed Ontario’s plans to promote Lanark County as a geotourism destination. In response to his comment that no one knew the location of the quarry where Dr. James Wilson had found Climactichnites wilsoni, I offered to prepare a memorandum listing references to the quarry in the literature. I prepared that memorandum for Michael and, to further the hunt for the quarry, circulated it to a number of geologists who had been looking for the quarry. I put off my search for the quarry last June when I found more interesting rocks and trace fossils in a quarry a few kilometers to the north of Lot 6. In early January of this year, while debating which topic to cover next, I found a new reference to the trace fossil Climactichnites at the Lanark Archives, and decided to start writing a posting to provide an update of that memorandum and to record of what I had found. As I had a number of points I wanted to cover, it made sense to break it into a number of parts.

When reading this posting, please note that the specimens of Climactichnites were found in fine grained Potsdam Sandstone (which in Ontario we would now call the Nepean Formation of the Potsdam Group), that the quarry is at least three feet deep, that the beds in the quarry are flat lying, that the tracks are impressed on a bed which varies in thickness from an inch to three inches, that the quarry is about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859, and that the owner has been identified by Sir William Logan as both Mr. Glyn and Mr. Glen (and others as Mr. Glenn). Please also keep in mind that the only individuals to collect specimens from the quarry were Dr. James Wilson, who found the original specimens, and Mr. James Richardson (first on instructions from Sir William Logan, and over twenty years later to collect specimens for the Peter Redpath Museum in Montreal). Sir William Logan and the others who report on its location never visited the quarry.

Sir William Logan announced the finding of the fossil in a paper entitled On the Tracks of an Animal lately found in the Potsdam Formation that he read before the Natural History Society of Montreal in June, 1860, and that was published later that year in volume V of The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist. Logan (1860) provided the initial hints to its location by describing it as being "in the neighbourhood of Perth" . He goes on to mention that "The quarry, of which the strata are nearly horizontal, is about a mile from the town, and with the aid of Mr. Glyn, the proprietor, Mr. Richardson obtained in fragments, a surface which measures about seventy-six square feet.. .. To obtain this required a good deal of patience, for ... it was necessary to remove between two and three feet of rock in order to reach the bed. The rock is a fine grained white sandstone ...so well known to belong to the Potsdam formation .... The tracks are impressed on a bed which varies in thickness in different parts from an inch to three inches.... " (Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, 5, 279-285, at page 282).


In 1863, three years after presenting the above paper, Sir William E. Logan published the location of the quarry. See: Geology of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress from its commencement to 1863, at pages 107-108, where Sir William E. Logan mentions that the specimens of Climactichnites were found a mile from Perth in Mr. Glen’s quarry in Lot 6, Concession III, Drummond Township. In this paper he identified the owner as Mr. Glen. [In his 1860 paper he gave the owner as Mr. Glyn.] Sir William E. Logan (1863) commented "About a mile from Perth, in a quarry on the sixth lot of the third range of Drummond, belonging to Mr. Glen, Dr. James Wilson of Perth has discovered, in association with Protichnites, the trail of what is supposed to have been some species of mollusk."

For completeness sake, I should note that Lot 6 is about a mile from the boundaries of the town of Perth as the town existed in 1859.

In an article published in 1863, Professor E. J. Chapman of University College, Toronto mentions that tracks of Protichnites and Climactichnites "have been found near the Town of Perth in the Township of Drummond, Canada West" and that the tracks of Climactichnites "exhibit narrow bands about five or six inches in width, with "beaded" edges, ... the whole presenting, as stated by Sir William Logan, a general resemblance to a rope-ladder." (See: Chapman, E. J. (1863), A Popular Exposition of the Minerals and Geology of Canada, Part V., Paleozoic Rocks of Canada, The Canadian Journal of Industry, Science and Art, New Series, Volume VIII)

Sir J. William Dawson in a paper entitled On Burrows and Tracks of Invertebrate Animals in Palaeozoic Rocks , and Other Markings described two specimens of Climactichnites collected by Mr. Richardson from the quarry near Perth that are in the collection of the Peter Redpath Museum in Montreal. He gives no indication of source other than being from the Potsdam Sandstone of Ontario. (See: (1890) London Quart. Journal Geol. Soc. 46, pp. 595-617).

R. W. Ells of the Geological Survey of Canada mapped parts of Eastern Ontario in 1901 and his report can be found in the GSC’s Annual Report for 1901 (See: Ells, R. W. (1904), Report on the Geology of a Portion of Eastern Ontario, Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report for 1901, Volume XIV (New Series), Part J, Report No. 790). A geologic map that covered most of Lanark and Renfrew counties, Perth Sheet, No. 119, accompanied his report. Attached as an Appendix to his report is an article on fossils found within the area of the Perth Sheet (No. 119) that was authored by Dr. H. M. Ami, Assistant Palaeontologist to the Geological Survey of Canada. This included Dr. Ami’s following comments on specimens of Climactichnites and Protichnites found near Perth.

"POTSDAM FORMATION.
I. Perth, Ontario. Collected by Sir W. E. Logan and Dr. James Wilson.
In the neighbourhood of Perth, the formation consists of white sandstone displaying tracks or trails of marine organisms referred to Protichnites and Climactichnites. Two forms have been noticed on the slabs of sandstone as follows:--
1. Protichnites. sp. a form allied to P, septem-notatus, Owen.
2. Climactichnites Wilsoni, Logan.
The type specimen from which Sir Wm. Logan described the so-called ladder-tracks referred to as Climactichnites is now preserved in the Museum of the Geological Survey and exhibited on the west wall of the palaeontological hall. An excellent woodcut or illustration of Climactichnites Wilsoni, Logan may be seen on page 107, Chapter VI of the "Geology of Canada" 1863.
It was in a quarry and on the property of Mr. Glen, lot 6, Range III, in the Township of Drummond, near the town of Perth, Ont. , that the late Dr. James Wilson discovered these trails and tracks of marine organisms."

(See: Ami, H. M. (1904), Preliminary lists of fossil organic remains from the Potsdam, Beekmantown (Calciferous), Chazy, Black River, Trenton, Utica and Pleistocene formations comprised within the Perth Sheet (No. 119) in Eastern Ontario, page 80J at pages 81J-82J).
The location of the quarry does not appear on the Perth Sheet (No. 119).

In 1961 the Geological Survey of Canada published a geologic map of Lanark County with margin notes that mention Climactichnites. See: GSC Map 1089A - Geology of Perth, Lanark and Leeds Counties, Ontario, published in 1961 (Geology by M. E. Wilson, 1930 and Jean Dugas, 1949. Descriptive Notes by Jean Dugas), which bears the comment "Supposed fossil-tracks, known as Climactichnites , are a typical feature of the Perth Area, and were seen on lot 6, concession III, Drummond Township." Would that they were "a typical feature". In fact, no one has found a new specimen of Climactichnites in the Perth area since about 1882.

The last reported specimens of Climactichnites collected from the quarry near Perth were likely collected by Mr. Richardson in, or shortly before, 1882 for the Peter Redpath Museum at McGill University in Montreal (see: The Report on the Peter Redpath Museum of McGill University, No. 11, January, 1883, which mentions at page 16 under the heading Part V. - Notice of Collections, Logan Memorial Collection that specimens added to the collection included a "Series of large slabs of Protichnites and Climactichnites, collected by Mr. Richardson, at Perth, Ontario.")

Twenty years ago the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., published an extensive review of Climactichnites that summarized the geologic distribution of this fossil. See: "Paleobiology of Climactichnites, an Enigmatic Late Cambrian Fossil by Ellis L. Yochelson and Mikhail A. Fedonkin, 1993, Number 74, Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology.

Yochelson and Fedonkin (1993) report that they came to Perth, Ontario to look for the quarry where Dr. Wilson found Climactichnites. They commented at page 7 that "At Perth, the precise locality, in Mr. Glyn’s quarry "about a mile from the town..." as it existed in 1859, cannot be located with any certainty and might now be covered by buildings. A geologic map of the area (Wilson and Dugas, 1961) noted reports of the fossil in Concession III, Lot 6. Through the assistance of Mr. D. McNicol we were able to locate a small long-abandoned quarry in this area, but did not observe any of the fossils of concern." Mr. Douglas McNicol was the Curator of the Archibald W. Campbell memorial Museum in Perth, which is now the Perth Museum. It is unfortunate that Mr. McNicol did not leave notes. That "long-abandoned quarry" can no longer be found.

More recently Patrick R. Getty and James W. ("Whitey") Hagadorn have published a series of papers dealing with Climactichnites, including Getty, P.R. and Hagadorn, J. W. (2008) Reinterpretation of Climactichnites Logan 1860 to Include Subsurface Burrows, and Erection of Muscoulopodus for resting traces of the Trailmaker, Journal of Palaeontology, V. 82, pp. 1161-117. Appendix 1 to this paper provides a list of references, and longitude and latitude coordinates, for the field localities for specimens of Climactichnites that they had examined in their study. They looked at Climactichnites specimens collected from localities in Wisconsin, Missouri, New York State, Ontario and Quebec. Beside the listing for Perth is the notation "Logan (1860); no longer exists." I sent emails to Getty and Hagadorn asking about this and was told that they had relied on Yochelson and Fedonkin (1993).

A Climactichnites specimen in the Perth Museum’s collection provides a hint for the quarry’s location. A badly worn tag accompanying the specimen (a specimen that was only found in the basement of the museum last fall and would not have been shown to Yochelson and Fedonkin when they visited Perth) bears the following inscription:

"Climactichnites Wilsoni (Logan).
?as? of the "ladder-tracks" preserved on the
accompanying Potsdam sandstone slab.
Locality - Lot 6, Con. III, Drummond Township.
????????? Dr. James Wilson prior to 1850.
From ????????????? collection. - Loaned by -
Archibald Campbell, Mining Geologist, Perth."

Archibald Campbell was the driving force behind the creation of the Perth Museum and was the first curator of the Perth Museum. I assume that the tag was prepared in about 1930.

As noted above, I have looked in Lot 6 for the quarry. I’ve also searched for the quarry using Google Satellite view, and have checked on various maps. For example, the topographic map for this area (Perth Sheet, 31C/16, 1:50,000) fails to show a quarry in Concession III of Drummond (though it does show a tiny rectangular pond that is no longer present). The official plan for the Township of Drummond/North Elmsley shows a magenta coloured "U"-shaped feature at the north end of the Lot 6, which is on private land. This "U"-shaped feature is barely visible on Google satellite view, but is overgrown – mostly a swamp in a wood lot. I had initially thought that this was an abandoned quarry as the colour magenta is used on the map for quarries. However, the colour magenta is also used for a swampy area. I haven’t visited the quarry/swamp, but hope to do so this summer, and will post if I find anything of interest.

I have also looked at the Registry Act pages for Lot 6, Concession III of Drummond Township. None of Mr. Glyn, Mr. Glen or Mr. Glenn (a spelling used in an article in the Perth Courier and another source) owned property in Lot 6 in the 1800's. That is of course not determinative, as Mr. Glyn/Glen/Glenn may have been a tenant farmer.

Geologic Mapping
The Geological Survey of Canada published geologic maps that covered Canada West (now Ontario) and Canada East (now Quebec) in association with Logan’s (1863) book The Geology of Canada. The Geological Map of Canada by Sir William E. Logan (1864) shows the Potsdam sandstone and Calciferous formation crossing Drummond Township, but because of the scale of the map it is difficult to tell if he considered Lot 6 to be Potsdam sandstone.

In 1875 the Geological Survey of Canada published a map entitled Map of Lanark County and parts of Renfrew and Leeds, Province of Ontario, "Geologically Shaded to illustrate the Report of Mr. Henry G. Vennor 1874-1875". The map uses one kind of shading for both the Potsdam and the overlying Calciferous formations, and this shading covers all of Lots 4 to 15 of Concessions I to IX of Drummond Township. Lots 1 to 3 of Concessions I to IX are shaded for Gneiss and crystalline limestones.

In 1900 the Geological Survey of Canada published a map entitled Map Shewing the Occurences of Iron Ores and Other Minerals in portions of the Counties of Frontenac, Renfrew and Leeds, Ontario. This map used separate types of shading for the Potsdam and for the overlying Calciferous formation and identifies some sandstone quarries. It shows Lots 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Concessions I through VIII of Drummond Township as being Potsdam, but shows no quarry in those lots.

I mentioned above that R. W. Ells (1904) prepared a geologic map that covered most of Lanark and Renfrew counties: Perth Sheet, No. 119. As he used the same colour and similar shading for the Potsdam sandstone and the overlying Calciferous, it is difficult to interpret his map. In Concession III of Drummond, Lot 1 is definately mapped as " Gneisses, etc.", Lot 2 appears to be Potsdam and Lots 3 to 10 are Calciferous. He shows quarries on the map, but none in Drummond Township.

Alice E. Wilson (1946), in a publication entitled Geology of the Ottawa-St. Lawrence Lowland, Ontario and Quebec, GSC Memoir 241, renamed what had been called the Potsdam as the Nepean Formation, renamed the Calciferous as the Oxford formation, and introduced the term March formation for what had been the transition or passage beds between the Potsdam and the Calciferous. The maps accompanying her Memoir did not extend as far west as Drummond Township.

It took another fifteen years for the Geological Survey of Canada to map this area and to publish a geologic map that used Alice E. Wilson’s formations. See: GSC Map1089A Geology of Perth, Lanark and Leeds Counties, Ontario, published in 1961. This map uses separate colours and numbers for the Nepean Formation "sandstone, some conglomerate", March Formation interbedded sandstone and dolomite, and Oxford Formation dolomitic limestone. Lots 2 to partway through Lot 8 of Concession III, Drummond Township, were mapped as Nepean Formation, with the March Formation starting halfway through Lot 8 and going to the east. Lot 1 is mapped as Precambrian Migmatitic rocks (syenite-migmatite).

The geologic boundaries shifted when the area was mapped in the early 1980's by the Ontario Geological Survey. See: D.A. Williams and R.R. Wolf’s (1984) map Paleozoic Geology of the Perth Area, Southern Ontario, (Map P. 2724, Ontario Geological Survey, Geological Series - Preliminary Map, scale 1:50,000, Geology 1982). This map shows a number of major faults intersecting to the west of Perth (presumably on the basis of geophysical evidence) and shows Lots 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. in Concession III, Drummond Township as being March Formation, with the Nepean Formation sandstones (which they considered to be part of the Potsdam Group) covering most of Lot 2, all of Lot 3 and part of Lot 4 of Concession III of Drummond Township. Lot 1 is Undifferentiated metamorphic and igneous rocks. On their map they use the symbol "x" to show outcrops. They show no outcrops in Lots 1 to 6 in Concession III (or in any of Concessions II to VI).

Similarly, B.V. Sanford and R.W.C. Arnott (2010), Stratigraphic and structural framework of the Potsdam Group in eastern Ontario, western Quebec and northern New York State, GSC Bulletin 597, show Lot 6, Concession III, Drummond Township as being March Formation on their map, Figure 3, with the Nepean Formation sandstones starting to the west, but they appear to have relied on Williams and Wolf (1982) and do not appear to have remapped this area.

All specimens of the fossils Climactichnites and Protichnites that have been found in the Ottawa embayment, whether in Ontario, Quebec or upper New York State, have been found in Potsdam Group sandstones. None have been found in the overlying March Formation rocks (formerly the transition or passage beds), or the even younger Oxford formation (formerly Calciferous) dolomitic rocks.
The above summary shows that while Lot 6 was originally mapped as Potsdam sandstone, it has been most recently mapped as March Formation dolomitic sandstone. If the recent mapping is accurate, it suggests that Climactichnites ought not to be found in Lot 6, unless there is only a thin veneer of March formation rocks on top of the older, underlying, Potsdam Group sandstone. Finding an outcrop in Lot 6 would help.

I mentioned above that I found no outcrop on Lot 6. There are outcrops .7 of a kilometer (.4 of a mile) to the north of Lot 6 along both sides of Highway 7 that are definitely not Potsdam sandstone, and were mapped as March formation by Williams and Wolf (1982). (The rocks in the outcrops are grey weathering carbonates that display pink Liesegang banding. This rock also outcrops near the top of the sequence of March Formation rocks at Tackaberry’s aggregate quarry, an additional two kilometers to the north along Highway 7.) As those were the closest outcrops to Lot 6 that I found, it suggests that Lot 6 could be March Formation.

To summarize this posting, a review of the scientific literature and geologic mapping fails to pinpoint the quarry’s location but has revealed a number of clues to the quarry’s location (namely that the specimens of Climactichnites and Protichnites were found in fine grained Potsdam sandstone (now, the Nepean Formation of the Potsdam Group) in a quarry that is at least three feet deep, that the beds in the quarry are flat lying, that the tracks are impressed on a bed which varies in thickness from an inch to three inches, that the quarry is about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859, that the owner of the quarry was Mr. Glyn or Mr. Glen, and that the quarry is in Concession III of Drummond Township).

Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario

I believe that I located the quarry where James Richardson collected the first specimens of Climactichnites that were described by W. E. Logan.   See my following blog posting.

Monday, 6 May 2013

On the trail of Climactichnites wilsoni - Part 3: A quarry about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859   https://fossilslanark.blogspot.com/2013/05/

On the trail of Climactichnites wilsoni - Part 1: Specimens Collected from a Quarry near Perth, Ontario

Over one hundred and fifty years ago Sir William E. Logan of the Geological Survey of Canada announced to the world the finding of a "new and remarkable" fossil track in sandstone from a locality "in the neighbourhood of Perth" ... "for the discovery of which we are indebted to my friend Dr. James Wilson of Perth, who sent me specimens of it in the month of November last." Logan considered the tracks to be "those of some species of gigantic mollusc". He concluded his article with the sentence "From the resemblance of the track to a ladder, the name proposed is Climactichnites Wilsoni, the specific designation being given in compliment to its discoverer, Dr. Wilson." Sir William Logan announced the finding of the fossil in a paper entitled On the Tracks of an Animal lately found in the Potsdam Formation that he read before the Natural History Society of Montreal in June, 1860, and that was published later that year in volume V of The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist.

Dr. James Wilson (1798-1881), who discovered the first fossils of Climactichnites, was a medical graduate of Edinburgh University who emigrated to Canada and practiced as a physician in Perth, Ontario from 1821 to 1869, and then retired to Scotland. Dr. Wilson was an amateur mineralogist and geologist who is credited with being the first to find the trace fossil Climactichnites Wilsoni, Perthite and Peristerite. In addition, he found outcrops that later became apatite (phosphate) and mica mines, and numerous mineral occurrences. In October, 2012 the Perth Museum at Matheson House in Perth, Ontario opened to the public its new Geology Exhibition, which features a display of part of the mineral and fossil collection of Dr. James Wilson, including the two specimens of Climactichnites wilsoni that are shown below.

The specimen on the left is the overlying impression or natural cast in the sediment laid down on top of the original trail. The specimen on the right records the original trail. The lateral ridges that are shown in the specimen on the right were formed by creature that made the original trail and are recorded as indentations in the overlying bed. The tracks are about six inches (15 cm) in width. The two specimens are not mirror images of one another, and while they may be parts of the same track, are not two parts split from the same rock. While Logan suggested that the track looked like a ladder, I expect that most people would be more likely to describe it as looking like a motorcycle track in sand.

It should be kept in mind that Climactichnites Wilsoni is a trace fossil (not a body fossil). It is the track, or surface trail, of a soft bodied creature –an unknown and unnamed tracemaker (probably a giant slug or another mollusc)– that was among the first to exit the oceans and ‘walk’ on land. The presence of lateral ridges in the specimens found at Perth confirms that they are surface trails.

In addition to the specimens in the Perth Museum, other specimens of the trace fossil Climactichnites wilsoni that were collected from the quarry near Perth can be found in the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Redpath Museum at McGill University in Montreal, the Geological Survey of Canada and the National Museum of Scotland. All of the specimens were collected in the period from about 1859 to 1882.

A specimen in the collection of the Geological Survey of Canada is particularly impressive. Not only is it a very large specimen, it displays a number of crossing trails of Climactichnites and clearly shows the trail of the trace fossil Protichnites. Measuring seventy-six square feet (and being about ten feet high by seven feet wide), it hung on the wall in Sir William Logan’s office in Montreal until he retired, and when the GSC was moved to Ottawa was on display at the Geological Survey of Canada’s museum in Ottawa until at least 1901. It is not currently on display.

It is interesting to consider the effort that went into collecting the specimen that hung on the wall in Sir William Logan’s office in Montreal. Sir William Logan (1860) in his article On the Track of an Animal lately found in the Potsdam Formation mentions " in the beginning of December, I sent Mr. Richardson to Perth, where he was guided to the quarry by Dr. Wilson, and shewn the bed in which the tracks occur. The quarry, of which the strata are nearly horizontal, is about a mile from the town, and with the aid of Mr. Glyn, the proprietor, Mr. Richardson obtained in fragments, a surface which measures about seventy-six square feet. To obtain this required a good deal of patience, for there was half a foot of snow on the ground, and from under this it was necessary to remove between two and three feet of rock in order to reach the bed. The rock is a fine grained white sandstone ... and of that pure silicious character which is so well known to belong to the Potsdam formation wherever it is met with. The tracks are impressed on a bed which varies in thickness in different parts from an inch to three inches. When the upper bed was removed large portions of the track-bearing bed came away with it, and it was necessary to separate the layers. This was done by heating the surface with burning wood placed upon it, and then suddenly cooling it with the application of snow. " (Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, 5, 279-285, at page 282).

One of the specimens in the possession of the Redpath Museum is prominently on display in the main stairway at that museum, and also features both the trace fossil Climactichnites and the trace fossil Protichnites.  That specimen is the larger of the two specimens shown the photograph to the left, which appeared in a paper by Sir J. William Dawson, read May 14, 1890, entitled On Burrows and Tracks of Invertebrate Animals in Palaeozoic Rocks , and Other Markings; (1890) London Quart. Journal Geol. Soc. 46, pp. 595-617. This is again a large specimen, being over six feet in height, with the trails being about six inches (15 cm) wide.

While Dawson gives no indication of source other than that they are from the Potsdam Sandstone of Ontario, the specimens were collected by Mr. Richardson in about 1882, and are likely the last reported specimens of Climactichnites collected from the quarry near Perth. The story behind their collection is interesting.  The Geological Survey of Canada had been headquartered in Montreal before Confederation. In 1881 the Geological Survey of Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada Museum, and its rock, mineral and fossil collections were moved to Ottawa. Sir William Logan, in his will, left funds to collect replacement specimens for a museum in Montreal. Replacement specimens of Climactichnites, Protichnites and other fossils were collected by Mr. Richardson, and other fossils were purchased, for display in Montreal. The Report on the Peter Redpath Museum of McGill University, No. 11, January, 1883, mentions at page 16 under the heading Part V. - Notice of Collections, Logan Memorial Collection that specimens added to the collection included a "Series of large slabs of Protichnites and Climactichnites, collected by Mr. Richardson, at Perth, Ontario."

The specimen at the Royal Ontario Museum is not currently on display but could be included along with other Potsdam trace fossils in the ROM’s new Gallery of Early Life which is scheduled to open to the public in 2014. A curator at the ROM sent me an email stating that the specimen was collected by "J. Wilson", which I assume identifies Dr. James Wilson.

The specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Scotland (formerly the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art) are not currently on display, and have been overlooked by those that have published articles on Climactichnites. The Report of the Keeper of the Natural History Collections for the year 1875, that is in the Report of the Director of the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art for 1875, appears to provide the only published description of these specimens. It mentions that "Dr. James Wilson has presented three valuable slabs from the Potsdam sandstone of Canada, one of which displays the supposed Crustacean track Protichnites, while on the other two are seen splendid examples of the still more remarkable and problematical Climactichnites Wilsoni." The current Principal Curator, Paleobiology, National Museum of Scotland, in answer to an email that I sent to him, has confirmed the specimens are in the museum’s specimen register: Climactichnites wilsoni under number 1875.24.1 and Protichnites under 1875.24.2.

Twenty years ago the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., published an extensive review of Climactichnites that summarized the geologic distribution of this fossil. See: "Paleobiology of Climactichnites, an Enigmatic Late Cambrian Fossil by Ellis L. Yochelson and Mikhail A. Fedonkin, 1993, Number 74, Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. The publication is available free over the internet and I would encourage anyone interested in this fossil to download the publication. Googling the title and the names of the authors should provide the paper.

In their publication Yochelson and Fedonkin (1993) published photographs of Climactichnites specimens collected from the quarry near Perth. Figure 18 shows the specimen owned by Geological Survey of Canada that hung on the wall in Sir William Logan’s office, Figure 55 shows the specimen on display at the Redpath Museum in Montreal, and Figure 42 shows the specimen at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Portions of those specimens are shown in other figures in their article.

More recently Patrick R. Getty and James W. ("Whitey") Hagadorn have published a series of papers dealing with Climactichnites, including Getty, P.R. and Hagadorn, J. W. (2008) Reinterpretation of Climactichnites Logan 1860 to Include Subsurface Burrows, and Erection of Muscoulopodus for resting traces of the Trailmaker, Journal of Palaeontology, V. 82, pp. 1161-1172, and Getty, P.R. and Hagadorn, J. W. (2009) Paleobiology of the Climactichnites Tracemaker, Palaeontology, Vol. 52, pp. 753-778. Both papers can be downloaded over the internet. These papers should be read by anyone with a serious interest in the fossil.

I’d like to conclude this posting by looking at the ages of the three major players. James Richardson was born in March, 1810 and died in November, 1883. He was three months shy of fifty when he first visited the quarry in 1859 (dug through half a foot of snow, dug through two to three feet of rock, and separated rock layers by heating the surfaces with burning wood and quenching with snow) and was in his early seventies when he collected the specimens for the Peter Redpath Museum. Dr. James Wilson (1798-1881) was 61 when he sent the first specimens to Sir William Logan (1798–1875), who was 62 when he delivered the paper announcing the finding of a "new and remarkable" fossil track in sandstone about a mile from Perth. Makes one feel young.

Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario

I believe that I located the quarry where James Richardson collected the first specimens of Climactichnites that were described by W. E. Logan.   See my following blog postings.

Monday, 11 February 2013

On the trail of Climactichnites wilsoni - Part 2: References to the Quarry Near Perth in the Scientific Literature, and the Geologic Mapping of Lot 6 

https://fossilslanark.blogspot.com/2013/02/

Monday, 6 May 2013

On the trail of Climactichnites wilsoni - Part 3: A quarry about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859   https://fossilslanark.blogspot.com/2013/05/