Fossil collecting from the Middle Devonian Silica Formation, Paulding, Paulding County, northwest Ohio

This field trip will be to a working limestone quarry near Paulding, Paulding County, Ohio, a little over 100 mi (160 km) north of Dayton, Ohio. The quarry is working Middle Devonian strata: the Dundee Formation and overlying Silica Formation and Tenmile Creek Dolomite of the Traverse Group. The focus of the trip will be the fossiliferous Silica Formation (Silica shale)--collecting from blocks of rock from recent quarry blasting. At Paulding, the thickness of the Silica Formation is reduced compared to farther north in the vicinity of Sylvania, Ohio. The most common fossils are brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, and trilobites. The visit will be timed with a recent blasting of the quarry's western rock face. Be aware that the terrain is uneven, and care must be exercised while fossil collecting. The quarry and adjacent cement plant at Paulding are operated by LaFarge.