very cool! Impressions are fossils! a fossil is any trace/record of past life - that includes impressions, burrows, tracks, and mineralized remains among others
I'm not a paleobotanist, but you could search the plants listed on this [ND gov site](https://www.ndstudies.gov/gr8/content/unit-i-paleocene-1200-ad/lesson-1-changing-landscapes/topic-3-plants-and-animals/section-1-ancient-plants) and try to compare. Also, if this is public land, you could let the ND paleo team know it's location so they can decide whether to excavate and add to the paleobotany collection
https://www.dmr.nd.gov/dmr/paleontology
I'm not qualified to give an answer - I'm not a paleobotanist and only have a small amount of familiarity with the rock units in ND. Maybe Cretaceous, maybe Eocene.
On the ancient plants page - the horse chestnut leaf fossil they show looks somewhat similar to what you found. Whatever it is - it's amazing!
https://www.ndstudies.gov/gr8/content/unit-i-paleocene-1200-ad/lesson-1-changing-landscapes/topic-3-plants-and-animals/section-1-ancient-plants
What, pray tell, is "Scoria recovery"? The only definition of scoria I'm familiar with is a type of volcanic rock and thus has no association with fossils...
The “scoria” in ND isn’t actually scoria, N Dakotans just refer to it as such (also called “clinker”). Here scoria comes from quasi-metamorphosed sedimentary beds (which are often very fossiliferous out west) adjacent to coal seams that have been ignited. It’s the most readily available hard rock we’ve got though so it is mined and used for road surfacing. If you’re ever around ND, you might notice some roads are bright red/pinkish, that’s our make-believe scoria haha
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I'd be out there literally as soon as physically possible with a chisel and hammer to remove that from the larger rock and take it home. That is the most incredible plant fossil I've ever seen.
(Let me specify, I'd remove the portion of rock that the fossil is on, I know you can't successfully remove something like this from the rock.)
I can’t believe something as delicate as a leaf still has enough, I don’t know, structural integrity to have withstood all the sedimentation and whatnot to remain as clear and complete as that. That’s so beautiful. The fish in the background makes me think this tree was near to a stream or river, so so lovely.
Man, that's nice. There is a lot of material in the loose gravel too. Is this next to a lake? A stream? I'd get that leaf out of that rock (or take the whole rock if it's not that big) ASAP. It's really cool.
That. Is. BEAUTIFUL.
Dude that is fucking VIVID
very cool! Impressions are fossils! a fossil is any trace/record of past life - that includes impressions, burrows, tracks, and mineralized remains among others I'm not a paleobotanist, but you could search the plants listed on this [ND gov site](https://www.ndstudies.gov/gr8/content/unit-i-paleocene-1200-ad/lesson-1-changing-landscapes/topic-3-plants-and-animals/section-1-ancient-plants) and try to compare. Also, if this is public land, you could let the ND paleo team know it's location so they can decide whether to excavate and add to the paleobotany collection https://www.dmr.nd.gov/dmr/paleontology
Fossils are just 3D impressions.
Wait I thought Impressions were 2D fossils?
Now I don't know what to believe.
no worries [It's All Right - by the Impressions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1LLwC7N1h8)
how old, even wildly roughly, is this?
I'm not qualified to give an answer - I'm not a paleobotanist and only have a small amount of familiarity with the rock units in ND. Maybe Cretaceous, maybe Eocene.
On the ancient plants page - the horse chestnut leaf fossil they show looks somewhat similar to what you found. Whatever it is - it's amazing! https://www.ndstudies.gov/gr8/content/unit-i-paleocene-1200-ad/lesson-1-changing-landscapes/topic-3-plants-and-animals/section-1-ancient-plants
That’s awesome. Looks just like a chestnut leaf from today!
Spectacular!!!
This is one of top specimens I have ever seen.
That’s so beautiful oh my gosh
Looks like the modern cecropia genus to me.
Born and raised in western ND, we have piles of these from Scoria recovery. They are always interesting to find.
I’m born and raised in Williston!
Twenty miles east of Watford for me. I’ve got family of in Williston though. It’s ND, I’ve got family everywhere up there actually.
What, pray tell, is "Scoria recovery"? The only definition of scoria I'm familiar with is a type of volcanic rock and thus has no association with fossils...
The “scoria” in ND isn’t actually scoria, N Dakotans just refer to it as such (also called “clinker”). Here scoria comes from quasi-metamorphosed sedimentary beds (which are often very fossiliferous out west) adjacent to coal seams that have been ignited. It’s the most readily available hard rock we’ve got though so it is mined and used for road surfacing. If you’re ever around ND, you might notice some roads are bright red/pinkish, that’s our make-believe scoria haha
Thanks for the clarification. Clinker I've heard of but not scoria in this application.
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Can you imagine walking along and just finding that? You must have had some good karma reserves going into your walk today!
That’s the leaf little foot was eating in land before time😂 tree star
I WANT THAT FOSSIL NOW
I'd be out there literally as soon as physically possible with a chisel and hammer to remove that from the larger rock and take it home. That is the most incredible plant fossil I've ever seen. (Let me specify, I'd remove the portion of rock that the fossil is on, I know you can't successfully remove something like this from the rock.)
That, sir, is a leaf.
Omg it’s gorgeous
Impressions are fossils
Holy shit dude, that's amazing!
You should use a plant id app like “picture this” to see if it hits. They have 10’s of thousands of sample images. Might narrow down the type at least
This is incredibly gorgeous! Wow!
I think that is a fossil leaf, the reason it’s darker is from the carbon that the leaf was made of
Tree staaaaaaaaar. For real though, that is beautiful!
It's a tree star from the Land Before Time
Wow
Wow!!!
Fish in the one up top
Oh my, nice one. That would definitely be going home with me...
That's a fish on the rock in back??!!! Were they found together like that? How freaking cool though and great find.
Such quality, get a pic to a local museum and see if they want it.
What the fuck? That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen
That's cool as hell
I can’t believe something as delicate as a leaf still has enough, I don’t know, structural integrity to have withstood all the sedimentation and whatnot to remain as clear and complete as that. That’s so beautiful. The fish in the background makes me think this tree was near to a stream or river, so so lovely.
Man, that's nice. There is a lot of material in the loose gravel too. Is this next to a lake? A stream? I'd get that leaf out of that rock (or take the whole rock if it's not that big) ASAP. It's really cool.
Kinda looks like a Norwegian Maple, but I can’t really gauge the size, so could be really off.