Tag Archives: France

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An echinoid from the Eocene of France

Mark Wilson July 7, 2013 1:48 am

The above is a specimen of the echinoid Echinolampas ovalis (Bory de St Vincent, 1824) from the Eocene of Civrac-en-Médoc, France. We are looking at what is called the aboral surface — that part of the organism on the other … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Coated snails! (Middle Jurassic of France)

Mark Wilson June 5, 2011 1:02 am

In 1988 I had my first visit to France, hosted by my English friend Tim Palmer. We explored Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) limestones in Normandy tracking looking at hardgrounds and other hard substrates. Along the way we stopped in a quarry … Continue reading →

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Fossils on the Meuse-Argonne Battlefield

Mark Wilson August 16, 2010 10:21 am

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–To my delight, while exploring the Meuse-Argonne area this morning, I found an exposure of marly Cretaceous sediments very near where my Grandfather’s tank brigade assembled for an attack at dawn on October 4, 1918. The sediment … Continue reading →

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Battle of the Mines: Vauquois, 1915-1918

Mark Wilson August 16, 2010 8:16 am

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–The influence of geology on war is shockingly clear on the Butte de Vauquois (N 49° 12′ 20.20”, E 5° 4′ 11.42”). This large hill (290 meters in elevation) is an outlier of the chalky detritic sandstone … Continue reading →

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The military advantage of holding the Upper Cretaceous chalk highlands

Mark Wilson August 15, 2010 12:08 pm

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–There is one strong geological control of warfare in northern France: the high areas are often thick, resistant Upper Cretaceous chalk while the valleys and plains below are usually poorly-consolidated greensands and clays. We’ve already seen these … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologist in France

Mark Wilson August 14, 2010 9:50 am

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–I’m on the last part of my European trip this summer. The International Bryozoology Association post-conference field trip ended in Frankfurt yesterday. I rented a car at the Frankfurt airport and drove southwest into northeastern France where … Continue reading →

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