(Isle la Motte, VT) Goodsell Ridge (Fossil)
Gastropod and cephalopod fossils seen in Goodsell Ridge (near 44.8537, -73.3395), Monday Apr. 8, 2024, on Isle la Motte, VT. Credits: Geo Field Report Northern New England (VT, NH, and ME) is known for granite. In fact, New Hampshire is nicknamed the "Granite State". Granite is an igneous rock, formed by magma cooling underground. Any organism trapped in magma likely would not leave a trace due to the extreme heat, so basically one can never find fossils in igneous rocks such as granite. However, three of the Lake Champlain islands make up the Chazy Fossil Reef National Natural Landmark (Isle la Motte and Garden Island in VT, and Valcour Island in NY). These islands have different rock compositions from their neighboring islands, being made up with limestone, and have preserved a great amount of fossils. The fossils are from 450+ million years ago when the area was still under the sea level. Gastropods (snails), cephalopods (octopi/squids), and other marine animals b