Category Archives: Cenozoic continental stratigraphy

EOCENE AND OLIGOCENE MAMMALS FROM THE GRAVELLY RANGE OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA

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Our first paper on work that several of us are doing in the Gravelly Range, southwestern Montana, was just published in a special issue of Paludicola, Scientific Contributions of the Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology. This issue contains papers in honor of James Gilbert Honey, a paleontologist and stratigrapher who focused on the Cenozoic, particularly the paleontology/evolution of camels and the Paleocene’s Fort Union Formation geology and paleontology. We’re pleased to have our work included in this volume! You can find our entire paper at:

Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology – Paludicola:

Donald Lofgren, Debra Hanneman, Jackson Bibbens, Liam Gerken, Frank Hu, Anthony Runkel, Isabella Kong, Andrew Tarakji, Aspen Helgeson, Isabel Gerard, Ruoqi Li, Sihan Li, Zhihan Ji. 2020. Eocene and Oligocene mammals from the Gravelly Range of southwestern Montana. Paludicola 12: 263-297.

Our paper’s abstract is: High elevation outcrops of Tertiary strata in the Gravelly Range of southwest Montana yield late Uintan to Whitneyan vertebrates that comprise five mammalian assemblages; Rapamys Site, Black Butte Low, Teepee Mountain, Black Butte High, and Lion Mountain High. The Rapamys Site and Black Butte Low are late Uintan or early Duchesnean. Two new species are present at the Rapamys Site (the carnivore Lycophocyon tabrumi and the rodent Pareumys muffleri). Small mammalian assemblages from Teepee Mountain and Black Butte High are late Duchesnean-early Chadronian and Chadronian, respectively. The most diverse assemblage is from Lion Mountain High, which is correlative with Whitneyan faunas from Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The Whitneyan age of the Lion Mountain High assemblage is further age constrained by an underlying tuff with a weighted mean 40Ar/39Ar age of 31.7 +- 0.02 Ma and an overlying basalt flow with a K/Ar age of 30.8 +- 0.7 Ma. Paleogeographic range extensions into Montana for Lion Mountain High taxa include Diceratherium tridactylum and Oxetocyon cuspidatus. The taxonomic composition of the combined Rapamys Site/Black Butte Low mammalian assemblage is most similar to those from southern California, rather than geographically closer assemblages found in Wyoming and Utah. Comparison of undescribed middle Eocene mammalian assemblages from southwest Montana to those from southern California will further elucidate the middle Eocene Montana-California paleobiogeographic affinity.

Our geology paper on this area is soon to follow….

Greater Yellowstone Area Eocene to Recent Hydrothermal Springs

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The Gravelly Range spring deposits depicted in this photo are late Eocene (probably 34-36 million years in age).

Geologic field work is always fun, but especially so when it turns up something unexpected. Working on Eocene to Recent geology and vertebrate paleontology in the Gravelly Range, southwestern Montana promised to be enthralling because the volcanics, sedimentary units, and vertebrate fossils are at elevations of about 9,000 feet. But to come across extensive, unmapped calcareous spring deposits of probable Eocene age is topping off research efforts.

At this point, I’ll just say that our field team is still at work on the Tertiary spring deposits. We’ve found numerous leaf impressions including those of ginkgo, palm, metasequoia, Fagopsis (extinct member of Beech family), and alder – just to name a few. We’ve shown the plant assemblage collected to date to several paleobotanists, and, at least for age, their take is that the assemblage is probably latest Eocene in age, and bears many similarities to Florissant, Colorado fossil plant assemblages.

Palm frond impression from Gravelly Range spring deposit.

Ginkgo leaf impression from a Gravelly Range spring deposit.

Alnus cone from a Gravelly Range Spring deposit.

The spring deposits in the Gravelly Range are extensive, covering an area roughly 2 miles in length with deposits up to 120 feet in thickness. The springs are best characterized as travertine, although the spring systems’ edges contain clastic fluvial units and both the springs’ edges and pools have features such as plant impressions, root systems, and small travertine balls.

Gravelly Range Eocene spring deposit. Field backpacks in lower left corner for scale.

Because the Gravelly Range is so close to Yellowstone National Park, it is extremely interesting to compare its Eocene spring deposits to hydrothermal units at both the currently active Mammoth Hot Springs (which probably began its activity about 7,700 years ago), and to the fossil travertine found just north of Gardiner, Montana, that formed about 19.500 to 38,700 years ago (Fouke and Murphy, 2016: The Art of Yellowstone Science: Mammoth Hot Springs as a Window on the Universe).

The Gardiner travertine is fairly well exposed because it has been extensively quarried for several decades. Of interest for comparison are numerous plant impressions that occur within microterracettes. Fouke and Murphy (2016) suggest that these may be impressions of sage brush. A photo of the quarried wall with the plant impressions is shown below.

Plant impressions in Gardiner travertine. These impressions may be from sage brush. The travertine in this quarry face is estimated at about 30,000 years in age.

Other features in the Gardiner travertine, now partly covered by graffiti, include a quarry wall that shows terracettes and microterracettes that are outlined by darker lines within the travertine. These features are probably indicative of a proximal slope facies.

Gardiner travertine with its slope facies depicted well in smooth quarry face. The dark, irregular lines delineate terracettes and microterracettes.

Jumping forward in time to the extensive spring deposits of Mammoth Hot Springs (just within the northeast park boundary of Yellowstone National Park), is mind boggling. As in any comparison with rocks as old as Eocene to active deposition, one realizes how much detail is lost over time. But it is still worthwhile to try to compare spring features, so I’ll show a few photos of the Mammoth Hot Springs that may match up with various features of the fossil springs.

Branch and plant fragments in the process of becoming calcified at Mammoth Hot Springs – main terrace.

Calcified plant debris – Mammoth main terrace.

Terracettes – Mammoth main terrace, proximal slope facies.

Trees engulfed by prograding spring activity – Mammoth main terrace.

Travertine balls in small pond – Mammoth main terrace.

Suffice it to say, that the upcoming field season should be a good one, with more work to be done on the Gravelly Range spring deposits. And – it’s always fun to get a trip in to Yellowstone!

Tertiary geology and paleontology of the central Gravelly Range – a project update

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The 2017 field crew working at Lazyman Hill. The strata are late Eocene (probably 34-36 million years in age) tufa deposits.

It’s time for our yearly update talk on field work and data compilation for the Tertiary geology and paleontology of the central Gravelly Range project in southwestern Montana. The Madison Ranger District in Ennis, Montana (5 Forest Service Road) will be hosting my talk on Monday, April 2nd at 10am in the Madison Ranger District conference room. We have a project permit from the US Forest Service because our project area lies within the Madison Ranger District – and the USFS District people have been really helpful with our project logistics. Thus, this is the perfect way to let them know what we did this past field season and how the whole project is coming together. The Madison District just sent their public announcement for the talk:

Dr. Hanneman and Dr. Don Lofgren, PhD (Director, Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, Claremont, CA 91711) and their team have been executing a multiyear study in the Gravelly Range near Black Butte resulting in many interesting paleontological findings right here in our own back yard.  Please join Dr. Hanneman and the Madison Ranger District for an update on this project and what they hope to unearth this year!

It’s a very intriguing project on high-elevation, mainly Eocene-Oligocene Tertiary geology and paleontology (mostly vertebrate and floral). So – anyone with an interest in this and who is in the geographic area, is welcome at the talk!

Tertiary Geology and Paleontology in the Gravelly Range, Southwestern Montana

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Lion Mountain in the Gravelly Range of southwestern Montana. This area is federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

A part of my recent geological field work includes working on high elevation Tertiary strata in the Gravelly Range, southwestern Montana. The Gravelly Range is located in southwest Montana, about 10 miles southwest of Ennis, Montana. For some background on this area and what my field work is about, see an older blog that I posted at Geopostings.

So – now that one field season is done and field data compiled, both my co-worker, Don Lofgren and myself have interpreted some of our data. We recently outlined our work at the Geological Society of America’s (GSA) Rocky Mountain section meeting in Calgary. Alberta. The abstract from our session is given below as well as the poster itself in both a jpeg format and as a link to our  GSA presentation.

“Tertiary strata exposed in four high elevation areas in the south-central
Gravelly Range yield significant assemblages of Late Eocene to Oligocene
mammals. The thickest stratigraphic sections of Tertiary strata are in the
Lion Mountain-Black Butte area. The Lion Mountain section age is based
primarily on American Museum of Natural History collections; the lower
part of this section is Duchesnean-Chadronian (39-33 Ma) and the
uppermost beds are Whitneyan (32-31 Ma). Age of the basal part of the
Black Butte section is Duchesnean-Chadronian based on Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology collections. Recent collections that include Miohippus indicate a probable Orellan age for uppermost exposures. The Tepee Mountain section is notable for abundant brontothere remains and is probably Duchesnean-Chadronian (approx. 39-33 Ma). The Rapamys site is the oldest vertebrate locality and is late Uintan to early Duchesnean (42-38 Ma) based on recently recovered specimens of Rapamys, Protoreodon, and Lycophocyon.

The Tertiary strata in this part of the Gravelly Range include fluvial, aeolian, and tufa deposits that are most likely mainly associated with localized Oligocene volcanism. The Lion Mountain section is about 270 meters in thickness; the lower half of the section is largely aeolian, with fluvial units comprising much of the upper section. Based upon age data, the 140 meter Black Butte section correlates to the lower 50-70 meters of the Lion Mountain section. The basal 20 meters of the Black Butte section contain some fluvial features, but much of the remaining section is largely aeolian in origin. Paleosols and extensive burrowing also occur within the Black Butte section. Stratigraphic section thickness decreases rapidly away from the Black Butte-Lion Mountain area, with section thicknesses of about 20 meters for the largely aeolian Rapamys and Tepee Mountain sections. Tufa deposits are located along the west-central edge of the Gravelly Range where they are associated with previously mapped thrust faults. Leaf imprint assemblages of Eocene-Miocene age are contained within these tufas. Strata previously mapped as Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene Beaverhead Formation are now variously reassigned to the lower Cretaceous Kootenai Formation, southwestern Montana Cenozoic Sequence 2, and diverse Quaternary units.” From: Abstract from Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 5 doi: 10.1130/abs/2017RM-293156.

The poster presented at the 2017 Rocky Mountain GSA is available below as a jpeg and at GSA as a pdf.

Cenozoic Sequence Stratigraphy of Southwestern Montana

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Much of my research has been focused on Cenozoic sequence stratigraphy of continental basin-fill in southwestern Montana. This approach to the stratigraphy of continental deposits has facilitated correlation of stratigraphic units both within and among the various basins of this area. I recently gave a talk about my work in this area at Montana Tech of the University of Montana. Here’s the You Tube version of my talk: