Hill Annex Mine Fossil GalleryMinnesota fossils from the Cretaceous era Coleraine formation |
The Hill Annex Paleotology project explores a geological layer in Minnesota called the Coleraine formation. The Coleraine formation contains fossils from the Cretaceous period approximately 90 million years ago. It was exposed by the mining activity in the Mesabi Iron Range over the past century.
The Hill Annex Paleotology project seeks to increase scientific and community knowlege of the fossil material from that era of Minnesota history.
This website consists mostly of photographs I took of fossils as I found them. Occasionally there are photos of fossils found by other people. This gallery does not represent the most interesting finds of this project. What this website does uniquely provide are photos of fossils as they are found "in situ" - as they appeared when I spotted them. This may be especially useful for any readers that plan to go fossil hunting at Hill Annex State Park.
This website also is dedicated to providing material on the history of the Mesabi Iron Range.
Please also see the links to scientific papers on the fossils of the Coleraine formation. These are the same papers referenced by paleontologists publishing new discoveries.
Links to historical papers on mining and the geology of the Mesabi Iron Range are also included as associated topics.
Note this is a personal website not affiliated with any institution.
Rylan Bachman bachmary@hotmail.com
Last updated May 14, 2020
Fossil Fish Scales found at Hill Annex |
Ancient Earth Globe 90 Million Years agoThis virtual globe allows visitors to rotate the Earth and see how it appears at various points in time.Half of Minnesota is under the Western Interior Seaway when the fossils on the Iron Range were deposited during the Cretaceous period. Hosted by DinosaurPictures.org |
Minnesota's Fossil Crocodile |
(Always Under Construction) |
Microscope Photographs of the |
An introductory list of topics for further reading.Always under construction |
Prehistoric VideosDocumentaries, Films, and Books that I've enjoyed. |
Science TalksScientists talking about prehistoric subjects Coming Soon |
High Resolution Microscope |
2019 Field Photos | ||
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2017 Field Photos | ||
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Calumet and Local History Links |
This book describes the history of Calumet and the people of the city from the first settler in 1890 up to 1959.Published to celebrate the city of Calumet's 50th anniversary |
This thesis includes blueprints for buildings that are still standing as part of Hill Annex State Park.
The Development of the Hill Annex Mine |
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Minnesota Geology
Field Trip, Summer 2000 and Other MN DNR Workshops
by Arlyn DeBruyckere with Dr. Tim Kroeger and Dr. John Annexstad Bemidji State University Includes information on Hill Annex Mine |
Cretaceous Fossil Links |
Hill Annex Mine Paleontology Project |
Entry on Anchura Grouti Gastropoda Stromboidea Website |
The Cretaceous System in Minnesota (RI-05)
by Robert E. Sloan 1964 Minnesota Geological Survey. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, http://hdl.handle.net/11299/60189 |
Interview with Robert E. Sloan by Professor Joe Cain Robert E. Sloan was a University of Minnesota paleontologist. |
Cretaceous of the Mesabi Iron Range, Minnesota Harlan R. Bergquist Journal of Paleontology Vol. 18, No. 1 (Jan., 1944), pp. 1-30 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1299188 |
Stratigraphy and Paleontology of Mid-Cretaceous Rocks in Minnesota and Contiguous Areas By William A. Cobban and E. A. Merewether https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1253/report.pdf
A.
Molluscan
fossil
record
from
the
northeastern
part
of
the
Upper
Cretaceous
seaway,
Western
Interior
by
William
A.
Cobban.
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Mid-Cretaceous ammonite zones, Western Interior, United States
By William A. Cobban Bull. geol. Soc. Denmark, vol. 33, pp. 71-89, Copenhagen, September, 11th, 1984. |
Bluff Country Fossils Blog by Beverly Sandlin Fossil hunting in Southeast Minnesota |
Oceans of Kansas http://oceansofkansas.com/ Information on Cretaceous in Kansas. By Michael J. Everhart Adjunct Curator of Paleontology at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, Kansas since 1998. Twice President (2005 and 2015) of the Kansas Academy of Science. Co-editor of the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science from 2006 through the present (2016) |
Another Sternberg “Fish-within-a-Fish” Discovery: First Report of Ichthyodectes ctenodon (Teleostei; Ichthyodectiformes) with Stomach Contents
By Michael J. Everhart, Scott A Hageman, Brian L. Hoffman Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 113(3 & 4):197-205 September 2010 Ichthyodectes is a fish that appears in Hill Annex Mine as well. |
Minnesota Cretaceous Pine Pollen By Richard L. Pierce University of Minnesota Science 04 Jan 1957: Vol. 125, Issue 3236, pp. 26 |
Terminonaris (Archosauria: Crocodyliformes): new material from Saskatchewan, Canada, and comments on its phylogenetic relationships
By Xiao-Chun Wu , Anthony P. Russell & Stephen L. Cumbaa Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Vol. 21 , Iss. 3,2001 Note: Full paper behind paywall |
Minnesota Geology and Mining Links |
Overview of the mineralogy of the Biwabik Iron Formation, Mesabi Iron Range, northern Minnesota by Peter Mcswiggen, G.B. Morey Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 52(1 Suppl):S11-25 · November 2007 |
The Iron-bearing Rocks of the Mesabi Range in Minnesota
by Josiah Edward Spurr 1894 Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota |
The Mesabi Iron-bearing District of Minnesota by Charles Kenneth Leith 1903 United States Geological Survey https://archive.org/details/mesabiironbearin00leit |
The Origin of Sedimentary Iron Formations: The Biwabik Formation of the Mesabi Range by John Walter Gruner 1922 University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/11299/178102 |
Bulletin No. 38. The Stratigraphy and Structure of the Mesabi Range, Minnesota by David A. White 1954 Minnesota Geological Survey http://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/57037 |
Paragraph Biography of Earl E. Hunner He was a chief engineer with Oliver Mining and pioneered the use of electricity in Mesabi range mining. |
The Development of the Hill Annex Mine by Earl Emmet Hunner 1917 Thesis submitted for the degree Engineer of Mines University of Wisconsin https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005744478 |
Engineering features of Missabe Range mining by Earl Emmet Hunner 1907 Thesis submitted for the degree of Civil Engineer University of Wisconsin https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005744479 |
Iron ore reserves of the Mesabi Range, Minnesota By R.W. Marsden 1977 Minnesota Geological Survey |