Hobbies And Interests

How to Find Fossils From a Rock

To find fossils you need to know where to look.The best places to find fossils are in canyons and washes.These types of geological formations serve as natural collection bins. Erosion washes the fossils down from the mountains during the rainy months and they collect in the canyons and washes waiting for people to find. Most fossils you will find in these areas will be of sea creatures and not dinosaur bones. They will be in sedimentary rocks like sandstone, limestone or shale formations to name a few. These are rocks formed when most of the surface of the earth was under the ocean.

Things You'll Need

  • Map
  • Magnifying glass
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use a map to find a dry riverbed, canyon or wash near your house.

    • 2

      Hike near the banks of the wash or canyon walls. Fossils line the banks and are exposed by erosion and fall into the wash.

    • 3

      Look for exposed sedimentary rock. Dry washes and riverbeds once cut through the earth exposing sedimentary rock formations. Sedimentary rock comes in many colors from light tan to dark red and is characterized by deep horizontal striations in the rock.

    • 4

      Walk slowly and very low to the ground.

    • 5

      Search for unusual lines or patterns in the rock as you walk.

    • 6

      Pick up rocks and Inspect closely with a magnifying glass looking for imprints of small shells or sea animals.


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