Montana Ammonites

I'm going to be north in Miles, Montana in April on a construction job. I've heard there are ammonites in that part of Montana. The books I've looked at aren't specific in sites or what to look for. Does anyone have any information they can share with me? I'd sure appreciate it.

If you have a day. The next large town east is Glendive. It has great ammonite collecting. Pierre Shale material. I've collected a few times in the area. Go to the old part of town ..I 'think' it is 10 Avenue. Any local can tell you where the old part is. Drive west and keep going out of town about 12km: the road turns to gravel about 8km or so. ...this will take you to a creek crossing at the bottom of a hill. You will see pump jacks in the area. Back track up the hill for 1.5 km...lots of fossils on both sides of the road. Lots of scaphites, nautilus, inoceramus bivalves (huge) and other invertebrates. I found a couple of Mosasaur vertebrae but no other vertebrate remains. Best to stop in at the BLM office. They can give you more precise distances and help to distinguish public and private land. There isn't any permission needed collecting on either public or private but vertebrate material (the little there is) can't be collected on BLM land. Most of the private land is scrubby and the oil companies don't restrict access. Be sure to have a cold beer after at one of the saloons. I like Montana and the people...no wimps or liberals allowed.

If you're in the Miles area, you're right in the midst of the world-famous Paleocene Fort Union Formation, which produces bountiful suites of excellently preserved leaves, plus loads of petrified wood. In addition to ammonite hunting, you might also want to investigate this amazing geologic rock deposit while you're in the neighborhood. The leaves are mainly in the shales exposed along the many roadcuts around Miles. One specific spot lies about 8 miles east of Miles in reddish shale deposits along the north side of Highway 12. The Fort Union also yields numerous crocodile-like reptiles, turtles, gar fish, small mammals and even mollusks, but don't keep any vertebrates while fossil-prospecting on Public Lands. It's verboten.

Fossils In Death Valley National Park

This site is great. I appreciate all the leads. Its good thinking stopping in at the BLM as a good chunk of land out West is federal.I've heard the ammonite collecting is the best in the country and the preservation of color really great. Thanks, Inyo for the plant leads around Miles. I'll let you know how I do.