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Hello everyone, 

 

This is my first posting on TFF (although I've been lurking on the forum for a while) and I am excited to be joining a community centered around one of my main interests. I have seen that this forum houses a very kind and helpful community, and I was hoping that some may be interested in helping a - very new and inexperienced - fossil hunter. I will be in the Charlottesville area for Labor Day weekend and I am in search of any tips for finding fossils in that area or general locations where they might be. I am willing to drive up to 3 hours to other locations in Virginia or locations in West Virginia, North Carolina, or Maryland. I have heard that there are some fossils in parts of George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia and I would be very glad to hear where I can find fossils there and if a permit is necessary to hunt for invertebrate fossils in that location. I am most interested in hunting for fossils from the Ordovician, Devonian, and Carboniferous periods, but any fossils would be great. I greatly appreciate any tips or information!

 

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Find a copy of james burns fossils collecting in the mid Atlantic states.   It is okd but any of the sites remain.

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I've heard about that book being a good source but that it is somewhat outdated and that some of the sites are no longer open to collecting. I'll be sure to check it out though. Thanks for the tip!

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Not much immediately around Charlottesville, but there are sites within 3 hours of there. I've never personally been, but I have heard the National Forest produces fossils. Should make for a fun hike/fossil hunt. Other than that, there's places like Westmoreland where you can walk along the water. 

 

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Shenendoah university has a list of va fossil sites.  My system which is not very scientific  is to pick a known site try to identify where it is and to stop at road cuts along the way.  not every published site still exists, sometimes the location is wrong or over picked but maybe i find sometimes interesting on the way.

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Thanks all for the info! I checked out the Shenandoah University site (or at least the one I believe you were referring to) and I saw that it mentioned the site in Gore, VA. Would anyone happen to know if collecting is still allowed at the Gore site? If so, are you allowed to park at the Gore Grocery store? 

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18 hours ago, Andúril Flame of the West said:

Thanks all for the info! I checked out the Shenandoah University site (or at least the one I believe you were referring to) and I saw that it mentioned the site in Gore, VA. Would anyone happen to know if collecting is still allowed at the Gore site? If so, are you allowed to park at the Gore Grocery store? 

I collect out there often, it’s definitely fairly productive. There are some other sites that are Devonian right around there as well. They are much (much!) more fragile fossils but there’s an unbelievable amount of specimens to be had

Edited by ScottBlooded
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