Nicolarsen Talk on Natural History Draws Good Crowd.

On July 19, at 2:30 p.m., The Clearmont Historical Group welcomed Dave Nicolarsen, Museum Curator at Sheridan College, when he presented a talk on natural history to go along with the current display at the Historical Center. Around 20 people attended the lecture.

Nicolarsen talked about the geology of Wyoming, and how North American may have looked millions of years ago. During the Late Cretaceous 100 million years ago, to the earliest Paleocene 66 million years ago, Wyoming was covered by the Western Interior Seaway, which extended from the Gulf of Mexico north to the Arctic Ocean. He talked about how the mountains were formed and how the earth has changed.

He talked about fossils, from huge fossils such as dinosaur bones, which are found in many areas of Wyoming, to very tiny fossils. “Look on ant hills,” he told the crowd, passing around a small dish with tiny seashells.

As unusual as it may seem, coral is often found in Wyoming, with several places on the mountain that are actually fossilized coral reefs.

Many fossils, like a mammoth tooth on display at the Center, can be found in Clear Creek when the water is low. Nicolarsen explained,

There is one of these standing trees at the Dry Creek Petrified Tree Area not far from Buffalo, Wyoming along Tipperary Road.

He talked about how that process formed the coal that underlies the Powder River Basin area.

He mentioned the extinction of the dinosaurs, and about digging up dinosaur bones. He said they hardly ever find a complete dinosaur skeleton, usually just a few scattered bones. He said in the case of Caesar, the Allosaurus on display at Sheridan College, they found 40% of the bones used for the casts in the completed skeleton on display, the rest of the bones were cast from another specimen.

Nicolarsen mentioned the ‘Bone Wars’ which happened in the rich dinosaur bone beds of Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado between 1877 and 1892. Two paleontologists, Edward D. Cope and Othniel C. Marsh, used underhanded methods to try to outdo the other in the field, resorting to bribery, theft, and even the destruction of bones.

He recommended books that would come in handy to the amateur fossil hunter as well.

Attending the program with his grandson, Conway, was Senator Dave Kinskey. He had this comment about the fossil display and the talk.

The Natural History exhibit will be up until the end of August, and all are welcome to come to the Clearmont Historical Center and see all the displays.

Upcoming Clearmont Historical Group events include the ice cream social on August 4 from 11-2 in Branding Iron Park and the Fall Colors Tour along the Powder River Tour on September 21. Watch Sheridan Media for more information on both events.