The Dolomite region has been filled with incredible diversity. However, what I keep returning to is the Bletterbach gorge. I keep thinking about the beauty of the land, the joy of the hike, and the incredible nature that we could search for fossils. Previously, when thinking about searching for fossils, I thought of the opening scene from Jurassic Park: a large dig site with a multitude of metal tools. The fact that we could just walk around, overturning certain rocks and finding fossils sounds like fiction. 

The image on the left is of the mountain itself. I like that you can clearly see each layer of rock over time: Gardena stone, gypsum, Bellerophon, and dolomite/dolostone.  

Gardena stone is the oldest type of stone. This stone is a result of volcanic eruptions 274 million years ago. Within the Gardena stone you could find traces of lizard species (ie footprints). Next is the gypsum. Gypsum looks almost identical to dolostone except it is brittle. Following this stone, is Bellerophon stone. These rocks date back to the end of the Permian period. They are grey and are a result of costal/aquatic environments. Finally, my personal favorite, the dolostone. Dolostone, as a fossil, dates to the Lower/Early Triassic era some 252-245 million years ago. During this time, the dolomite mountain range was completely underwater. This is why algae can be found in dolostone. 

The image on the right is a “time accurate” representation of the mountain. We were divided into two groups, boys vs girls, and needed to recreate the geological structure of the mountain. The group with the largest, most accurate tower, won. It was a blast to create this and it was fun to test my memory of the different rocks. 

These are images of the fossils I found. The two on the right are of dolostone. The little indents/holes are fossilized algae! I liked that you could see multiple diverse types of algae as evident from the different indents within the dolostone. The one on the left is an example of Bellerophon stone. The groves seen in this rock are fossilized imprints of shells. 

Finding fossilized evidence of aquatic life made my Marine Biology heart very happy.