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https://twitter.com/PaleoFeathers/status/1295037988121051137?s=19 Hello, I'm into rockhounding. I'm part of a gem club and they go on field trips out to places to collect locally sourced gem-quality petrified wood and agate. Sometimes I strike it out on my own in an attempt to find new previously unknown sources of material. Unfortunately due to Covid, I'm not able to attend the field trips nor am I able to travel to some of the more far-out dig sites, but I still have access to some pretty cool rocks I'd like to share with you all. Please post your cool rocks in this thread. I'll start with my latest finds: a big white agate I pulled out of a stream in the Cascades, looks like if I cut it open it might have a cavity full of crystals    here's an agate still in its host rock that I collected a few miles up the forest road from the streambed agate  these are agates from the same location, except they had naturally weathered out of the host rock  This one was naturally cracked open to reveal an amazing banding pattern + crystal cavity  This is a load of petrified wood from Central Washington State that's currently on its fine-grit stage of polishing in my 12lb Thumbler tumbler 
Lacrosse fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Aug 17, 2020 |
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Aug 2, 2020 20:29
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Those are very pretty agates and I'd love to see more of your collection. Also, if you have any books or sources relevant to rockhounding in central florida, I'd appreciate it because so far what I've seen is sadly limestone, shells, sand and more sand. Granted, I'd probably have to try looking harder when I'm out doing stuff than I do know. Maybe more inland theres cooler stuff. 
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Aug 2, 2020 22:53
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I found this on the bank of a creek near my house earlier this year. I believe it's an amethyst, but I don't know for sure.
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Aug 3, 2020 14:20
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Elmnt80 posted:Those are very pretty agates and I'd love to see more of your collection. Florida has a pretty famous pay-to-dig location where fossilized shells have created cavities that then filled with calcite crystals
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Aug 5, 2020 01:33
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Two weeks I was out at a dig site for smokey quartz. Was getting skunked all drat day, hours and hours of unsuccessful digging. 'Just one more hole' and I started unearthing shards of quartz from the decomposed granite layer. It was all pretty shattered but some of it had the quartz crystal pseudoform. I collected it all just happy to find -something- eventually I unearthed a beer-can sized chunk of really fractured quartz that had one glassy side to it. Then a softball-sized vuggy chunk of decayed granite that had tiny quartz crystals in the cavities. Then one chunk of reall glassy smokey quartz before the seam went dry. Took it all home, never been so happy to have a bunch of regular looking quartz
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Aug 5, 2020 01:40
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Elmnt80 posted:Those are very pretty agates and I'd love to see more of your collection. I'll put some actual reading suggestions in the OP when I find time, but I'm fond of the 'Gem Trails of [State]' books. There's 'Rockhounding [State]' books but the author of the Washington State guide had several sexist comments about his wife's rear end sprinkled through the book and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
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Aug 6, 2020 00:04
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Hey! What a cool thread. I have done pretty remedial rock hounding. Out on the original Pony Express trail in the west desert of Utah there is the Dugway Geode beds. I have been twice, and was there just last month! I have a couple of really nice looking ones I have not opened because I want to cut them open properly and not just break open with a hammer.  I have posted about it some in my off roading thread I have in AI.  My smallest climbing around the pit. Here is an IMGUR linked video showing the desert and pit. It was hot as balls.
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Aug 7, 2020 22:02
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You mentioned the Cascades so I’m gonna assume you’re in Western WA. Picked up Gem Trails of Washington yesterday, but do you have any specific recommendations for newbies who want to get started around here? Mostly looking for stuff to do that’s fairly easy to hike in and out of in a couple hours each way. My Dad knew Bob Jackson back in the day and I think he had some stuff that Bob dug up over the years too, wish he was running some of his tours.
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Aug 9, 2020 20:26
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tumblr hype man posted:You mentioned the Cascades so I’m gonna assume you’re in Western WA. Picked up Gem Trails of Washington yesterday, but do you have any specific recommendations for newbies who want to get started around here? Mostly looking for stuff to do that’s fairly easy to hike in and out of in a couple hours each way. Yeah there's the Hansen Creek quartz site off I-90 on the way to Snoqualmie. Fair warning though I hear that area is really really popular right now so go at your own risk. Here's someone's helpful guide on everything you need to know about the site: https://hansencreekquartzcrystals.wordpress.com/ Make sure you park at the trailhead with the granite boulders and not the hiking trail that's further up the mountain. The dig site is an easy 10 minute hike from the parking area along what was probably an old logging road so it has a gentle grade. You'll know you're at the digging area when you reach the end of the trail; the hill goes steeply up to the right where the dirt is a crumbly yellow clay and you'll see big craters dug into the hillside. It's very important that you don't dig under trees because that'll kill them and make them unstable. Also make sure you don't dislodge any large rocks as you dig because it's really steep in that area and they'll roll for a really long way down the hill and hit someone. Bring a digging tool like a maddock or a small shovel, and also a clarifying screen and a spray bottle of water (+ drinking water because there's no water around to refill with), as well as a hiking stick or trekking pole for the trip down the hill. You'll also need surveyor's tape for trailblazing, make sure you mark the bottom of the trail before you start climbing because it's easy to miss on the way down. Quartz points are all over the ground there, you don't even have to dig and can just pick them up off the ground in what's known as 'surface mining'. If you're lucky you can find amethyst and smokey quartz in the area but it's mostly clear and milky quartz. The clear stuff is rare but the stuff you do find is clear as ice; definitely optical quality. I've found some the cloudy stuff with pyrite inclusions, which is pretty cool. If you want to join a gem club basically every city around here has them. Issaquah, Kent, Puyallup to name a few. They often schedule field trips so if you want to know all the cool places to go you should join one of the local clubs. The rockhounding books usually have a directory of clubs in the back so see if you can find one in your city. Lacrosse fucked around with this message at 05:54 on Aug 11, 2020 |
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Aug 11, 2020 05:48
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My rock collection is super juvenile: visit somewhere, see a rock that looks neat or is a nice memento of a visit, slip it into pocket. Some of them are super illegal too! They also have a volcanic theme to them. (sources are Iceland, Oregon, Idaho, eastern Montana and northern New Mexico)
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Aug 11, 2020 14:07
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Awesome thanks! I’m gonna see if maybe there’s a weekday that works best, I know the trails were packed last weekend, and that was in the gray before everything burned off. Spent some more time with the Gem Trails book and I’ll see what else looks appealing.
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Aug 12, 2020 04:32
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Rockhounding owns! I used to do some hobby prospecting in the pegmatitic dikes of southern california on the hunt for the "piggy peg" (mostly for tourmalines). It is such a great feeling to have spent hours researching and verifying legal status before driving hours into the BLM backcountry then orienteering correctly to find an abandoned mine or tailing site. Even if all I got was smokey quartz and large shorals just correctly figuring it all out was a blast. Best results were always on the pay digs but getting to meet some of the old miners usually made it worth the entry fee. Plus any excuse to play in mud!
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Aug 13, 2020 00:02
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tumblr hype man posted:Awesome thanks! I’m gonna see if maybe there’s a weekday that works best, I know the trails were packed last weekend, and that was in the gray before everything burned off. You could also try Red Top Mountain but I feel like driving to Cle Elum is a bit too far to go in a pandemic. Ditto to the Saddle Mountains outside of Vantage, but also it's fire season in that area and the petrified wood dig site was literally on fire last summer. I haven't been back since last April so I don't know how much damage was done. Also RE: legality, I feel like I should put in the OP the rockhounder's code of ethics so people know what/where you cannot collect. Short version: no collecting in National Parks, State Parks, or Indian Reservations. You also cannot collect vertebrate fossils without a permit, nor Indian artifacts such as arrowheads or broken pottery.
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Aug 13, 2020 00:19
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Have any of you been to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas? As far as I know it's the only place in the world the public can dig for diamonds and keep what they find. Of course most people don't find anything more than rocks, but the park rangers there can identify a gem and rate it for you if you do find one! Sadly all I found when I went was some cool purple rocks.
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Aug 15, 2020 17:34
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Somewhat Heroic posted:Hey! What a cool thread. I have done pretty remedial rock hounding. Out on the original Pony Express trail in the west desert of Utah there is the Dugway Geode beds. I have been twice, and was there just last month! I have a couple of really nice looking ones I have not opened because I want to cut them open properly and not just break open with a hammer. Hey there Dugway buddy! That pony express trail is certainly memorable, I think it lossened a couple of my fillings. Took a drive out there a few weeks ago, and really had trouble finding much of worth that was not already busted open, either by the folks not patient enough to have them sawn or the heavy machine they use to churn up the beds every so often. I live in the Uintas area, and there are tons of areas with neat rocks. I need to source somewhere that can cut large (like small loaf of bread size) specimens.   
Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 16:32 on Jan 5, 2021 |
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Jan 5, 2021 16:05
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Missed the spring window to head to dugway for geodes, and now it is triple digits out there.
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Jun 20, 2021 02:44
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Hey check out this petrified log.    80+ cm tall and probably about 1000 lbs. It hasn't budged from this spot in the 5 or so years I've known about it and I don't imagine it'll be moving any time soon. It's deep down a rough, limited access road & halfway down the side of a particularly steep hill on extremely loose, sandy soil. I'd love to know what species of extinct tree this used to be. I spend a lot of time working in the area surrounding two relatively popular rockhounding sites and have been picking up neat looking stones for years. I recently met someone who's an avid rockhounder who has taught me that I have agate, jasper and opal coming out my rear end.
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Jun 20, 2021 05:46
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Made it back out to dugway this fall. Antelope, wild horses, and some decent sized geodes. I need to get a decent rock saw, as I don't want to simply pound them open.
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Oct 28, 2021 12:55
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Hasselblad posted:Made it back out to dugway this fall. Antelope, wild horses, and some decent sized geodes. I need to get a decent rock saw, as I don't want to simply pound them open. Check to see if there's a rock and gem club nearby, they usually have a rock shop you can borrow. Or if you join the club members may invite you over to use their equipment. Definitely don't hit geodes or thundereggs with a hammer, they look better cut open.
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Nov 3, 2021 23:23
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Lacrosse posted:Check to see if there's a rock and gem club nearby, they usually have a rock shop you can borrow. Or if you join the club members may invite you over to use their equipment. Definitely don't hit geodes or thundereggs with a hammer, they look better cut open. Oh absolutely, it infuriates me to see folks at the pits finding them, and them smashing them with hammers to open.
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Nov 4, 2021 03:00
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I have some concretions I'd like to open because one I found eroded open on its own had a crab inside. A woman I met on the beach where I found them told me I should boil them a pot of water then chuck the still hot rocks into the surf to break them open.
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Nov 11, 2021 01:56
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Also a biologist by trade, and I watch this clip at least 3 times every time I visit this thread and it doesn't get old or less relatable. I've had avid rockhounds on my crew that I inevitably embarrass myself in front of. I have no idea if this is jasper but yes I did collect 3 buckets full. I thought this was agate? What do you mean calcite? I filled my whole truck bed with it! Now that all the rockhounders have left for
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Feb 21, 2022 06:49
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Here's something for both the biologists and rockhounds. Porcupine Mountains in Upper Peninsula Michigan. The boulder is copper harbor conglomerate which is approximately 1 billion years old. 
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Mar 1, 2022 22:21
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Aero737 posted:Here's something for both the biologists and rockhounds. Porcupine Mountains in Upper Peninsula Michigan. The boulder is copper harbor conglomerate which is approximately 1 billion years old. Isn't all matter pretty old?
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Mar 2, 2022 04:02
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Wanna see the saddest thing you've ever witnessed in your life? I hauled this massive stone 1.5km and about 300m up a mountain, it weighs about 25lbs and is 24cm in length. Home free, about 2 meters from the UTV, I had to cross a pasture fence and wanted use of my hands to not nick my new pants so I dropped the rock on the other side of the fence without thinking, and now I have three rocks where once I only had one. Prepare to cry, i sure did  Anyone have a clue what this might be?
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Jun 13, 2022 21:21
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What does the break surface look like?
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Jun 18, 2022 06:19
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Oh boy, it ain't boring. All photos of the break surface are oriented with the fossil imprint facing upward.  I cleaned it up a bit and got some better photos, here's an album: https://imgur.com/a/zfm84mz I'm pretty curious what those black dendritic markings are. I borrowed a book on fossils from the library and I've been seeing a lot of similar markings on photos of ammonite fossils but I'm still leaning toward the larger fossil being something in the plant kingdom, though I could also see it being crustaceans or a trilobite of some sort. For more context, I found it in the Bilk Creek Mountains in NW Nevada at about 6000' elevation. The rock is somewhat brittle with fragments chipping away if I don't handle it gingerly enough. Here's a pretty unhelpful video from the approx. location it was found https://i.imgur.com/oqh3sca.mp4 treat fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Jun 18, 2022 |
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Jun 18, 2022 23:05
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One of my local river fishing holes, as is often the case in the appalachians, cuts into a shale deposit on the outside of a bend and people say it’s fossil bearing. How would you go about finding out if it’s part of any specific fossil bearing formation, what might be present in it, that kinda thing?
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Jun 19, 2022 01:17
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Have you gone fossil hunting there? That would be step one! Try asking local geology-adjacent organizations. I’m thinking if you have a nearby college or community college. Maybe your county has a natural resources department, or there is a nature center in the area. Is the fishing hole on park/public land? They would be another resource. Ideally you’ll find someone with local knowledge. Otherwise you might have to find some sort of USGS map or a geology book about your state. I don’t remember the age, but a lot of the fossils in the Shenandoah valley are marine fossils like trilobites and brachiopodes. There’s an excellent book called “Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States” if you live in the WV, VA, PA region of the Appalachians.
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Jun 23, 2022 03:52
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I can't believe I am just now finding out about this thread, I need to leave my bookmarks more often. I'm not sure where to begin except for accusations of tumbler witchcraft (and I might hit you up for advice once I find out which moving box mine is in.) Most of my best rocks are also still in boxes but here are extremely quick and lovely phone pics of ones I have out:  Clockwise from left: Purple thing with grape-flavored Fluorite flavor crystals (Bell Hill Mine, UT) Leaverites I have out (location unknown,) Azurite (Jacob City, UT) chunk of Galena, Pyrite, Quartz crystals, and maybe even a little native copper (I ~THINK~ I found this at Gold Hill* on the UT/NV state line,) Cinnabar w/ green poo poo (Idaho or Montana, forget which,) weird Quartz crystal-crust pastry (Virginia City, NV,) botroyoidal Calcite (?) thing (SW Idaho) I tried taking a better pic of the shiny metal crystal chunk. It looks better in person, I promise. I'd blame the phone but I have never not once ever taken a good picture of a rock.  *Gold Hill is amazing by the way, a hollowed-out mountain covered/filled with all kinds of pretty rocks. Definitely check it out if, for some insane reason, you are in the area but for the love of god bring spare water and maybe even two spare tires.
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Jul 8, 2022 01:39
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Elmnt80 posted:rockhounding ... florida A hell I've known all too well until this year. Condolences, brother. I can tell you that you can find nice looking Agateized coral/fossils among the crushed up rocks used in the the Atlantic Beach post office parking lot.
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Jul 8, 2022 01:42
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treat posted:Oh boy, it ain't boring. I'm pretty sure the black dendritic markings is just desert varnish, manganese oxide. No idea what the fossil is.
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Jul 14, 2022 19:37
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Thus far, successfully identified as “rock” or “probably rock-adjacent.” Could be from just about anywhere. Most likely Earth. Any idea? Those little wormy bits with the internal lattice are ~2mm across. The main body of the rock has some glittery bits .5mm across or less. Feels vaguely limestoney. Forgot to taste it.
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Jul 31, 2022 06:16
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It's a fossilized coral
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Jul 31, 2022 08:10
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Goodpancakes posted:It's a fossilized coral Rock on, friend
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Jul 31, 2022 09:12
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This is one of my oldest possessions--a rock I found during a hike while I was in Girl Scouts. It has these coppery-gold bits in its side that my phone has trouble picking up.  I've always enjoyed picking up pretty rocks, but I want to find some on my own instead of buying them. Hopefully this talk of a mine my coworkers mentioned is real and I'll get to go find my own stuff.
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Jul 31, 2022 21:20
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Here's the rock I got in Depoe Bay, OR  Basalt with quartz, maybe? I have no idea.
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Aug 2, 2022 22:32
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I found a chunk of petrified onion* over the weekend (Santa Cruz mtns, CA) * I know that's not really what it is That Old Ganon posted:I want to find some on my own What works pretty well for me is searching a given region on mindat.org, look for pictures of pretty rocks other people have posted and then go to/near those places.
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Aug 8, 2022 19:32
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I watched this earlier and thought it might be good for the thread. There's a lot of information in here that applies to more than just hunting lake rocks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_t4LC13utM
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Aug 15, 2022 18:57
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That was an excellent video. Also I’ve been pronouncing gneiss wrong for a long time. Here are some rocks I recently found from the beaches around Mystic CT. Lots of quartz and feldspar in all their granite like configurations:   The weirdest one may be the far left in the second picture. CT is covered in glacial till, but somehow that rock got to the beach without being crushed smooth by the glacier.
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Aug 17, 2022 13:30
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