The Maysville roadcut, located in northeastern Kentucky, features Upper Ordovician rock and fossils. Maysville is located in Mason County, Kentucky and contains a large roadcut along the U.S. Route 68 highway. The Maysville roadcut lies on the Clyde T. Barbour Parkway. The roadcut was human-made in the 1950s and consists of rock from the Ordovician period that is roughly 450 million years old. Maysville provides an opportunity to observe the stratigraphy of the formations present of the Ordovician time period.
The roadcut is made up of three different formations: the Kope, Fairview, and Bellevue in ascending order. They are broken up into different layers that can be identified by different sediments and fossils present. The Maysville roadcut formations are made up primarily of shale and limestone. The abundance of each rock type differs amongst the three formations. Shale dominates in the Bellevue formation. Limestone is most prevalent in Fairview formation. A mix of limestone and shale is found in the Kope formation.
There are a wide variety of invertebrate fossils that can be found at the Maysville roadcut, including trilobites, cephalopods, crinoids, gastropods, brachiopods, bryozoans. The abundance and presence of fossil types differs depending on the formation viewed. This is due to the differences in ecosystems and environmental conditions at the time of each formation. The Ordovician was a time when the land we know today was covered by a hot, shallow sea. The Cincinnati Arch, where Maysville can be found, was at about twenty three degrees south of the equator. Roadcuts such as Maysville roadcut have attracted those interested in collecting fossils, ranging from professionals at universities to amateurs in the area. Part of Maysville fossil collecting is fossil identification. Fossil identification books for Ohio and the Cincinnati area can serve as a resource. Furthermore, the Dry Dredgers is an amateur fossil collecting and geology group located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their website also provides information for fossil identification.
Kope formation
The Kope formation is the lowest layer at the Maysville roadcut. It is the oldest formation present from the late Ordovician period at Maysville and dates to approximately 460-450 million years ago.
The Kope formation is the easiest to access at the Maysville roadcut and can be climbed readily with proper hiking equipment. Common fossils found in this formation include trilobites, which are often more abundant than at the Fairview and Bellevue formations. Trilobites are found in both rolled and prone positions. The Kope formation mostly contains whole rolled Flexicalymene trilobites and fragments of Isotelus trilobites. An abundance of trilobites can be collected at the North end of the Kope formation, closer to the top of the formation. Brachiopods can be found in the Kope in both small or broken fragments and whole specimens. Crinoid stems are abundant both as stacked fragments within a rock or individual discs lying within the sediment. Fossilized gastropods and bryozoans are abundant in the Kope formation. Crinoid stems, gastropods, and bryozoans are found scattered throughout the Kope. Few loose cephalopods and many small cephalopods settled in large slabs of rock are also present. Cephalopods are most commonly found near the bottom of the Kope formation. Many trace fossils are found within this layer, but the Fairview formation contains a greater amount of trace fossils. Many fossils are buried in large slabs of fossiliferous limestone and shale. The Kope formation has a blue-gray color that is mostly shale with some limestone.
Fairview formation
The Fairview formation is located in between the Kope and Bellevue formations, making it younger than Kope and older than Bellevue. The approximate age of the Fairview formation is about 455-450 million years ago.