Scottnokes2015 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hi everyone, I am new to the hobby and all of my fossils have been purchased from fossilera.com. I am wanting to go and find some my self and I live in Chester, Illinois. There are some steep hills with this orange[brown rocks built up either side of the road which do look old. They are about 3 miles away from the Mississippi river. Are they likely to contain any type of fossils, even like ammonite or trilobites or just anything or does roadside rock not produce anything. Being new to the hobby, I just never know were to look. Thank you if anyone can help or at least guide me to some places this direction. i'm also near the Missouri border to Perryville. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottnokes2015 Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 thanks, but when I follow the links, it says error opening the the link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 sorry bout that! here is the portal: Illinois State Geological Survey, and a cursory search result on their site for Fossils in the area. Link dead link deleted "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 The rocks in the vicinity appear to be Chesteran Stage (uppermost Mississippian), which happens to be named after the town. These rocks could be marine or non-marine. Orange/brown rocks could indicate non-marine. The best thing at this point is to visit the outcrop (if possible and safe) and see if you can find anything at all. If marine, some types shells or crinoid remains could be present. If non-marine, plant material/debris would be your best bet. It's possible both marine and non-marine are present at the exposure. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Hi Scott, There is only one real way to find out: prospection. Just make sure that you are allowed to search on those locations and ask permission to the landowners. For me this is one of the most fun parts of the hobby, exploring rocks in hope to find some fossils. Even if you don’t now for sure the age of the rocks, if you manage to find something I’m sure that there are people on this forum who can help with determination and dating of the fossils. Also don’t be discouraged if you don’t find anything on your first prospections, If you are new to the hobby there is a lot to learn by trial and error on the field. So good luck hunting, and make sure to post some pictures of your future discoveries. Kevin growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Many roads are built as flat as possible which entails cutting into the higher ground to lower the roadway (even if it's solid rock) and filling in the lower spots to raise the surface. These road cuts are usually owned by whoever built the road. It could be the state, county or a municipality. The width of a road easement varies and can even vary along the same road. Officials at the office of the road maintenance department who is responsible for upkeep should be able to tell you this measurement. Limited access highways are usually off limits to parking so you may have a walk to get to a cut on these. Generally if you can safely park along a road there are almost never restrictions to collecting. In fact these are some of the last public areas open to amateur collecting. If we use them responsibly maybe that will not change. Keep in mind that the roads in national and most state parks are off-limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottnokes2015 Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 So Bob are these rocks even possibly going tho house anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 If they are sedimentary, they could house something. Maybe even a fossil or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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