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online home of the North America Research Group (NARG)

NARG Search and Rescue
Goshen, Oregon - Fisher Formation
August 9, 2010
by MacKenzie Smith

On August 9th, Aaron Currier, T.J. Lavelle, Dan O'Loughlin, Robert Rosé, and MacKenzie and Tami Smith trekked to Goshen to see if it still yielded fossils. To our luck the early Oligocene Fisher formation shale still contains fossils. There was a concern that the site might have been exhausted due to the fact that it is material moved to put in the highway overpass. However there was an obstacle: blackberries. Fortunately we came prepared with clippers and “loppers” to attack the guards keeping us from our fossils in distress. We dug two pits; one up by the road and another closer to the railroad tracks. Larger pieces of shale were extracted from the lower hole and were later split while the upper hole had smaller pieces that only had to be turned over. Both spots produced leaves, wood debris and some yet to be identified plant parts. Things to bring next time on a trip to Goshen: a pie crust and more clippers.