Kaspar825 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Hey guys just thought i want to try hunting a couple days ago can you tell me some spots in illinois. Around Chicago would be better but i could go to other places. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaspar825 Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 And also what should i bring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 (edited) Hello Kaspar825, Here is a list of places to go: http://www.fossilsit...m/STATES/IL.HTM Keep in mind, much of the info on the list is OLD, and sites may be off limits or no longer there. As to what to bring,... Hammer, chisels, backpack, water, bug spray, first aid kit, sledge hammer. You may add or detract from the list as necessary. There are older posts - if you search the forum, that cover this topic. Example: http://www.thefossil...=1 Good luck, be safe, and don't forget to report back! We wanna see what you find! Edited June 9, 2010 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Im from that area, If you look in the Illinois section of fossil locales Ive listed some places around Rockford and South Beloit. They're Ordovician in age. Braidwood really isn't that far from Chicago (I used to drive there from South Beloit!) As I'm sure you've heard you can find some ironstone concretions there. If your adventurous (and own a bullet proof vest ) You could try the Silurian age formation in <gulp> Blue Island (I take no responsibility for anything that may happen to you there! ) Between Racine and Milwaukee there are also Silurian aged deposits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Kapraun Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Jim B88 good info, the sad thing is in this area of northern illinois there are rock quaries that have fossils in them, but its really hard to get permission due to the liability. For braidwood you need a boat and need to know what islands on the lake to go to and have an idea on what your looking for in concretions. There is a huge quarry in by chicago and i mean huge i dont remember the name of it, but i would love to get in there, i believe its off 290? I would say your best bet is to join a club called esconi i think they do some field trips to braidwood and are able to get into some quarries. B.A. in Geology Augustana College 2003 Full time taxidermist since 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Jim B88 good info, the sad thing is in this area of northern illinois there are rock quaries that have fossils in them, but its really hard to get permission due to the liability. For braidwood you need a boat and need to know what islands on the lake to go to and have an idea on what your looking for in concretions. There is a huge quarry in by chicago and i mean huge i dont remember the name of it, but i would love to get in there, i believe its off 290? I would say your best bet is to join a club called esconi i think they do some field trips to braidwood and are able to get into some quarries. I believe thats the Vulcan quarry (my dad worked there.) Actually I found most of my concretions in areas outside of Braidwood. I had only been to the islands once. Theres also a state park in Mazon that you can collect at (the visitor center shows some of the concretions from there.) I used to walk along the rail lines looking for outcrops that the concretions weather out of with some success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 (edited) Go South Young Man. Southern Illinois has a plethora of Mississippian material, particularly crinoids. Head down I-57 to the Anna exit. http://www.lakeneosho.org/Paleolist/88/index.html Brent Ashcraft Edited June 10, 2010 by ashcraft ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyRockHound Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Greetings, all. I'm new to the site but a long-time fossil nut. I live in the Chicago area and wanted to chime in about Braidwood -- I've been collecting there just three times, all in the past two years, including yesterday. I've always been on foot and never used a boat. Over those three trips, I've found *hundreds* of opened and unopened concretions (yesterday's haul included around 100 unopened -- I stopped counting while sorting). The quality and variety of the specimens has been impressive. I've found too many jellies to count, a number of fish (including one fearsome-looking little fellow about the size of a guppy, which preserved so well (3D) that you can count his scales and the number of rays in his fins), shrimp, insects, clams, plants, etc. I'll post some pics when I get some better equipment. My point is that Braidwood is most definitely not played out for collecting on foot if you're willing to do some work and get a little dirty. There are two strategies I'd recommend that have proven to be very productive. First, walk the roads around the Mazonia South Unit. The roads look like crushed limestone, but there's only a thin layer of limestone over the rough-graded soil, which is loaded with concretions. Traffic and weathering will bring them to the surface where they will be lying in plain sight, just waiting to be picked up. (Hint: don't wear sunglasses, the color is very distinctive and with a little practice, they pop right out of the background). Yesterday, I parked at the Monster Lake car park and started to walk the shoulders of the road. Not 50 yards from the entrance to the lot, I saw a curved piece of ironstone about an inch long sticking up from the ground. A bit of careful digging revealed a complete half-concretion (and the pieces of the other half) more than six inches across, by far the largest I've ever found. I think it's a jelly, but I'll post a pic sometime and solicit the wisdom of those more experienced than I. The other method I've used is to hill-climb. Find a hill in the public-use areas, climb it and look on the sides where the soil is weathered out from under the trees. You will almost certainly find specimens. The downside is that it takes a lot of work to collect that way, but I enjoy hill scrambling, so it's fine by me. Safety tip: be careful of the bugs. The area is loaded with ticks, but some good repellent and a one-piece (like a mechanic's suit) pretty much make them a non-issue. Good luck and happy hunting! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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