Jump to content

New to this


Jared185

Recommended Posts

Hi guys, 

So I've been interested in and have been studying dinosaurs for quite some time not to mention all of the documentaries. But I'm new and it seems resources on the internet are very few when it comes to starting something like this. 

Anyway I'm from southeast ky and I am dying to start fossil hunting but am lost at where to start or even what area may be a good place. 

 

So I guess my question is what do I do now and are there any good resources for learning

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to TFF!

Unfortunately there are no dinosaurs in Kentucky that I am aware of, it would be illegal to collect them anyways.

There are< however a lot of fossil sites that You can collect at in Your state, and its neighbors.

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the Forum. :) 

 

Your best bet is to join a local rock hounding club. 

There you will meet like minded individuals who can show you the ropes, and bring you to places to hunt on Club excursions and Field trips. 

 

Google Search Fossil Collecting in Kentucky.

Here is a generalized Geologic map of Kentucky. 

 

generalgeologicmap.jpg

 

 

Here is a website with very old site info, sorted by county,  that is probably no longer accurate

However it is a good place to start your research.  ;) 

 

Google Formation names, fossils + Kentucky. 

 

Read any research papers on fossils from Kentucky that you can. 

The University of Kentucky has some good websites to peruse as well. 

 

Good luck, 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  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

Welcome to the forum from Maryland! You have certainly come to the right place to find resources! We are brimming with experts, Top-tier amateurs, and people who can find almost any paper. Also there’s laypeople like me:)

Kentucky has got some awesome Paleozoic sites if memory serves. Good luck with your fossil hunting!

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're just interested in dinosaurs the better collecting areas are in Montana or South Dakota.  Hardly any public areas you can collect most are on private ranches that you need to obtain access. There are tour groups like PaleoAdventure that take people out on a dig if that works for you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to The Fossil Forum!  If you don't mind wading through some scientific papers, you might find some useful articles in my pdf library here on TFF.  Here's a LINK to the part of the library that contains information about Kentucky.  Good luck!

 

-Joe

Illigitimati non carborundum

Fruitbat's PDF Library

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome from one Kentuckian to another! I’m just getting started in this hobby myself, but I can tell you that you’ve definitely come to the right place to learn. From what I’ve gleaned so far, while we might be lacking the impressive thunder lizards, the coalfields of eastern Kentucky are host to a vast collection of marine and plant life that have left some impressive fossils of their own. Also, if you’re interested in late ice age megafauna, I would definitely recommend a trip to Big Bone Lick State Park, the “birthplace of American paleontology.” You can’t collect there, but it’s very informative. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the input guys,

Anyway I have looked and have not found any clubs in my area and am so busy that I can't drive very far to go to meets. Also I researched and seen that ky was a sea floor back then and knew that dinos was not an option. But any fossil from around that time is extremely interesting to me and I do plan to take a few trips to dino hotspots later on lol.

 

I guess my next questions are

1. Where are good places to find fossils(side of a hill cliffs etc)

 

2. I have 5 acres of private property. Red mud lots of sandstone and really hilly area. I plan to go there to search first. But how do I tell a fossil from a rock and also are fossils generally in the middle of a good size rock or stuck to the side? Is it worth cracking open some larger rocks even if there is no evidence.

 

Any other tips for my first fossil hunting trip would be great I'm located in the silurian age/ area of rock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...