GULN Paleontological Resource Summary
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Gulf Coast Network Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring Gulf Coast Network Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring Gulf Coast Network Jason P. Kenworthy Paleontology Technician Geologic Resources Division Vincent L. Santucci Chief Ranger George Washington Memorial Parkway Christy C. Visaggi Paleontological Intern University of North Carolina-Wilmington February 2007 National Park Service, TIC #D-750 NOTE: This report provides baseline paleontological resource data to National Park Service administration and resource management staff. The report contains information regarding the location of non-renewable paleontological resources within NPS units. It is not intended for distribution to the general public. On the Cover: French naturalist Charles A. Lesueur collected and illustrated numerous fossils from the base of “Walnut Hills” near Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1829. His “Walnut Hills” locality is within or immediately adjacent to what is now Vicksburg National Military Park. The cover illustration is the first of 12 such plates from “Walnut Hills” and includes the first measured section and detailed geological study within Mississippi. The fossils are identified by Lesueur as: bryozoan (fig. 6); foraminifera (figs. 7-10, 16); coral (fig. 14); and scaphopods (straight shelled mollusks, figs. 13,18). Dockery (1982) reproduced all of Lesueur’s plates. The original plates are housed in the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. For more information, see the Vicksburg National Military Park chapter of this report. How to cite this document: Kenworthy, J. P., V. L. Santucci, and C. C. Visaggi. 2007. Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring, Gulf Coast Network. National Park Service TIC# D-750. 103 pages. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 GULF COAST NETWORK MAP .................................................................................................. 2 NPS PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE INVENTORY STRATEGIES AND METHODOLOGY ............................... 3 ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND WEBSITES OF INTEREST ......................................................... 6 BIG THICKET NATIONAL PRESERVE............................................................................................. 9 GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE ....................................................................................... 19 JEAN LAFITTE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK AND PRESERVE ............................................................ 25 NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY .................................................................................................. 29 TENNESSEE ............................................................................................................. 30 ALABAMA .............................................................................................................. 38 MISSISSIPPI ............................................................................................................. 41 BRICES CROSS ROADS NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD SITE ............................................... 60 TUPELO NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD ........................................................................ 61 NATCHEZ NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK............................................................... 61 PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE ....................................................................................... 77 PALO ALTO BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE...................................................................... 83 SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK ................................................................ 86 VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK .................................................................................... 91 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................... 101 APPENDIX A: GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE .................................................................................... 103 Gulf Coast I&M Network Paleontological Resource Summary—Kenworthy Santucci and Visaggi 2007 INTRODUCTION Paleontological resources, or fossils, are any remains of past life preserved within a geologic context. There are two main types of fossils: body fossils and trace fossils. Body fossils are the physical remains of an actual organism (shells, bones, teeth, plant leaves, etc.) while trace fossils (burrows, coprolites, footprints, trackways, etc.) preserve evidence of an organism’s activity or behavior. Fossils are non- renewable natural resources that possess great scientific, educational, and interpretive value. The establishment of baseline paleontological resource data is essential for the appropriate management of fossils found within National Park Service (NPS) areas. Although more than 180 NPS areas have been identified with paleontological resources, few parks have adequate baseline paleontological resource data. In conjunction with the NPS Geologic Resources Division and the NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program, paleontological resource inventories have been initiated in dozens of parks Servicewide and are further described in the Methodology and Inventory Strategies section of this report. This report presents paleontological resource inventory and monitoring data compiled for the parks of the Gulf Coast I&M Network (GULN). The Gulf Coast Network includes eight National Park Service areas in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas as shown in Figure 1: Big Thicket National Preserve (Texas; BITH) Gulf Islands National Seashore (Florida, Mississippi; GUIS), Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (Louisiana; JELA), Natchez Trace Parkway (Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee; NATR), Padre Island National Seashore (Texas; PAIS), Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site (Texas; PAAL), San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (Texas; SAAN), and Vicksburg National Military Park (Mississippi; VICK). All together, the parks of the GULN encompass over 444,000 acres and hosted more than 10.6 million visitors in FY2006. Four GULN parks were established primarily to preserve and interpret natural resources (BITH, GUIS, and PAIS). Three GULN parks were established primarily for cultural and historical resources related to the Spanish Colonial Period (SAAN), United States-Mexico War (PAAL), and the American Civil War (VICK). JELA was established to preserve and interpret both the natural history of the Mississippi Delta area and Acadian cultural history. The 715 km (444 miles) of NATR commemorate the Natchez Trace, a historic trail utilized by American Indians and early European settlers between what is now Mississippi and central Tennessee. While none of the parks were established specifically for paleontological resource stewardship, fossils are known from a number of GULN parks including Big Thicket National Preserve, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Natchez Trace Parkway, Padre Island National Seashore, and Vicksburg National Military Park. Building stones within San Antonio Missions National Military Park also display fossils. Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve contain younger (few hundred-few thousand years old) deposits preserving important paleoenvironmental data. The paleontological resources found within GULN parks are quite diverse, span more than 460 million years, and in some cases are nationally, or even globally significant. For example, NATR crosses nearly 460 million years of geologic time represented by some four dozen fossiliferous formations in three states and two physiographic provinces. These formations have yielded globally significant specimens near and within NATR boundaries illustrating the evolution of the southern Appalachian Mountains and the Gulf Coast region. The cliffs surrounding Vicksburg National Military Park (“Walnut Hills”) were the site of the first geologic investigation in Mississippi in 1829 as figured on the cover of this report. Mint Springs Bayou, also within Vicksburg National Military Park, is a classic Oligocene marine invertebrate collecting locality from the late 1800s through today. John Wesley Powell collected fossil snail shells from the Pleistocene loess deposits at Vicksburg while serving during the Civil War. Rhinoceros and mammoth material were recovered from Miocene and Pleistocene river deposits near or within Big Thicket National 1 Gulf Coast I&M Network Paleontological Resource Summary—Kenworthy Santucci and Visaggi 2007 Preserve. Pleistocene fossils wash up on the beaches of Padre Island National Seashore from now offshore lake sediments. Collectively, the paleontological resources of the Gulf Coast Network contribute much to a greater understanding of the history of life on earth. Continued paleontological resource inventories will serve to expand this ever-widening base of paleontological knowledge represented throughout the National Park Service. Although more than 180 parks have already been identified as containing paleontological resources, much of what is to be known about the history of life on earth remains to be discovered. Jason P. Kenworthy, Vincent L. Santucci, and Christy Visaggi—February 2007 Figure 1. Map of Gulf Coast I&M Network parks. Map produced by GULN staff. 2 Gulf Coast I&M Network Paleontological Resource Summary—Kenworthy Santucci and Visaggi