Rockhounding the Nueces River in Texas

How did you spend your 4th of July? I spent the day searching for cool and interesting rocks along the Nueces river in south Texas. Come along and see what it’s like!

[@ElectricUniverseEyes]

🤜🏻⚡🤛🏻 I want to go back to that place again. Great rock hounding paradise

[@susansanders6155]

It tickles me to listen to you can you remind me of my husband. We would go rock hunting and I would get a geology lesson from him . I miss him and his lessons. You got some beautiful rocks I have to continue watching you

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks so much Susan for the kind words, and thanks for watching!

[@coldpond]

Really enjoyed you taking the viewer along as you assessed the rocks. Very informative. Pretty cool using Google Maps to scope out potential rock beds. 👍

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks John! I hope to turn the rocks into something special.

[@tinymetaltrees]

I just figured out to use Google street view two weeks ago and gathered last weekend at one of the spots I found. I feel so dumb for not ever using it before! 🤦‍♂️

[@JoseGomez-rj9ms]

My ranch is about 3 miles up the river from the bridge on your video. My kids also love collecting rocks.

[@spwinaustin]

I am so jealous! That’s one of my favorite areas of Texas. Thanks for watching!

[@AnEpicSaga]

I’m just moving into a spot off Sycamore Mountain (N creek). I’m looking forward to learning all the names of tucked away places up here.

[@frankmckinley1254]

I know the spot, lived in Uvalde for eleven years. Thanks for the video.

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks Frank for watching!

[@johngoes45]

This is sad and funny both for my wife and I - we decided to go rock hounding in deep south Texas the 4th of July weekend and found on gravel and rock roadsides lots of petrified wood, jaspers and agates near Zapata. We had planned to check out the Nueces near Uvalde as a last stop but ended up heading home after the 104° temps started taking a toll. Now we have to plan another trip to hit the Nueces near Uvalde because we now see we missed a treasure trove.

[@spwinaustin]

Hey John! Great minds think alike when it comes to the best way to spend the 4th of July 😆. You two definitely need to check out the Nueces river. There are lots and lots and lots of rocks to see…….

[@johnnorman2113]

This was the video I have been looking for before I start hounding the green belt

[@spwinaustin]

I’m glad you found it, thanks for watching!😁

[@dawnettehunter6922]

Wow!!!! I want to go to Western Texas to the Nueces River. I loved what you found!!! Thank you for the excellent lesson. You have a very calming voice. I could listen to you and watch your videos all day.

[@spwinaustin]

Thank you so much for the kind words Dawnette, I appreciate it!

[@billwilson-es5yn]

I reside in a commercial parking lot that has islands with tree that are covered with rounded river bed rock from Arkansas. Quite a bit is red chert that appears to have been used by the regions natives to make the flint points found on the ground or dug up during excavation work. I picked one up yesterday that's unusual. It's red chert conglomerate of very small white stone with some slightly larger white stone. It has fine banding that goes in all directions with slightly wider banding that runs straight and cross each other at right angles. You can play Tic-Tac-Toe on it.

[@spwinaustin]

That sounds like an awesome stone, congrats!

[@billwilson-es5yn]

@@spwinaustin I just wonder how old it may be?

[@lgobin]

Nicely done video. Enjoyed the commentary. Thanks for taking me along.

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks Lynn, I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@sandramartin5155]

Best end of March and middle of October

[@spwinaustin]

That time should work well. Thanks for watching!

[@stevenw354]

I need to watch more of your videos to learn how to find agates

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks for watching! Definitely check out my playlists for a whole group of videos focused on rockhounding. Many of them are geared towards agates 😁.

[@chrissgraniteparadise2656]

I would find a happy home in our sculpture garden for those larger rocks: both the fossil ones and the big banded cherts you left behind. Awesome video, and thanks so much for sharing it! I have displays from Oregon, California, Mexico, Montana, Wyoming... etc. But almost NOTHING from Texas yet.

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks Chris, I’m so glad you liked the video! You should definitely get to Texas for some rockhounding!

[@mitchgillilan]

Some amazing banded chert!! We don't have any of that in oregon so I really just think it's stunning! Thanks for the Texas geology lesson, this is great 👍

[@spwinaustin]

Thank you for watching Mitch!

[@clentonweston8839]

Maaan those fossil rocks would look great polished. Great finds you had that day. Love that agatized wood you picked up. Love your videos Scott!

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks for the kind words Clenton! I have a bunch more videos ready to be uploaded and many more in the works so stay tuned.

[@tinymetaltrees]

Looks like some cool stuff to me!

[@spwinaustin]

I always find cool stuff down there. Thanks for watching!

[@kmgva]

At 16 min the rock is a heart shape which is my favorite!

[@spwinaustin]

I never noticed that, thanks for pointing it out!😆

[@chrishebert7650]

Wow! That’s a lot of rocks

[@spwinaustin]

Yup, it was a good day 😁.

[@claydavis186]

Really cool video I may have to take a trip up river

[@spwinaustin]

Lots of good stuff there, that’s for sure. Thanks for watching!

[@hikingwithjackieboy]

I have crossed that area several times. Looks like you had some pretty cool finds.

[@spwinaustin]

It’s definitely a rich area for cool finds. Thanks for watching!

[@hikingwithjackieboy]

@@spwinaustin you're welcome

[@sandramartin5155]

East texas has opalizied Petrified wood my husband said as a native Texan he would know

[@spwinaustin]

I’d love to find some!😁

[@sandramartin5155]

West texas has beautiful Agates I hear

[@spwinaustin]

There are some awesome ones out there for sure. Thanks for watching!

[@1luckytexan605]

wonder what strolling along at night with a UV light could find?

[@spwinaustin]

I don’t know but that would be lots of fun, but only when it’s a little cooler out 😁. Thanks for watching!

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

So the only thing missing was a rock hammer to split apart that stone with all the shells in it to examine the interior.

[@spwinaustin]

Yup, it’s always fun to break them the field 😆. Thanks so much for watching!

[@darrinwilliams5715]

There is a lot of pretty chert there in Texas.😎

[@spwinaustin]

Yup, we might not have colorful agates like Montana but we have more than our fair share of chert!

[@lindabyrne1645]

What does false allies coral look like when it's finished?

[@spwinaustin]

I’m not sure to be honest. It might be too soft to take much of a shine 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@mawi1172]

Now I believe you're in Texas.

[@spwinaustin]

Yup, it’s hard to fake that landscape! 😉

[@duwla1913]

Where exactly is this? Im a flintknapper and heading to texas soon and i want to make a stop. Lovely chery there

[@spwinaustin]

Hi, thanks for watching! There are several spots you could try but I like the access just west of Uvalde under highway 90.

[@deenarichardson5198]

My question is how to get down there under the bridge? Is there a way to drive down?

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks for watching Deena! It’s very easy to get down there in your car. There is a dirt road along the highway that takes you right to it. It’s about 200 yards from the bridge. Good luck!

[@tashacherry1480]

I would've looked into the 4:00 red one. Yes Ik about Iron staining but I zoomed in and it looks promising and partially pseudo morphed maybe. At 4:11 you can see the quick glimmer that is crystallized plus the center/white eyes look covered white powdery substance.

[@spwinaustin]

Hi Tasha, thanks for watching! That’s why I hate to watch my videos because I know I’ll find something I regret 😥. 😆

[@Panda-ik4uk]

You need a permit to collect there in the Nueces? I might come down from up north.

[@spwinaustin]

Hi, thanks for watching! There are no restrictions that I’m aware of regarding collecting rocks along to Nueces River so come on down! The area I hunt is an enormous rock bar, easily the biggest I’ve ever seen. Good luck!

[@DarrenBenavidesDB]

Hey did you ever find out if they were petrified woods

[@spwinaustin]

As a matter of fact there were a couple of pieces of pet wood from that hunt. Thanks for watching!

[@master-n-teachvirgo8557]

🙂

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@master-n-teachvirgo8557]

@@spwinaustin keep rocking,😎🤙

[@lukechert6418]

I sell that boring chert for $3/lb all day long, no polishing or cutting supplies required.

[@spwinaustin]

It’s beautiful stuff. I’ve got a batch nearly finished tumbling and they are going to be stunning. Thanks for watching!

[@anthonyward81]

You know where I can find some texas holey rock

[@spwinaustin]

Hi, thanks for watching! I recommend river rock bars for rocks like that. Good luck!

[@Shinobi-kill]

How far was the river in south texas

[@spwinaustin]

Hi. I’m not sure what you are asking but the part of the river I hunt is right outside of Uvalde. It runs for many miles throughout Texas though. Thanks for watching!

[@michaellebert8907]

I found a piece of agatized wood in college station while building an apartment complex. Been wanting to split it open so bad, how much do I gotta pay you to do it right?

[@michaellebert8907]

Probably the size of my head

[@spwinaustin]

Hi Michael, thanks for watching! It sounds like you found an awesome piece of wood. I’ve never thought about charging for cutting someone’s stone but maybe someday I’ll open up the shop for services like that. That piece might be too big even for my 18” saw!😆

[@michaellebert8907]

I guess I could just make two slices on each side, then try to split it with chisels? I just dont wanna ruin it if it ends up being pretty inside. Theres a quartz vein running from one side of the log to the other

[@spwinaustin]

@@michaellebert8907 If you are concerned about preserving it I definitely would not recommend using a chisel. There's no telling how it will break apart and it could possibly shatter into several small pieces if it has lots of internal fractures. Do you have a lapidary club in your area? Normally they have saws onsite that should be able to handle it. Also, check with any rock shops in your area. Ours here in Austin has several big rock saws and for a fee they will cut stones for you.

[@joaomarcos7394]

dont you have a agathe fire agathe cornaline?only fosseis e pedras comuns woodstones

[@spwinaustin]

Hi, thanks for watching! That particular area has mostly chert and limestone type stones but in other parts of Texas we have lots of other types of cool rocks.

[@sonicvilleras]

Can you provide the exact location please?

[@spwinaustin]

Hi, and thanks for watching. The rock bar is along the Nueces River, just west of Uvalde on highway 90. You can’t miss it!

[@sonicvilleras]

@@spwinaustin thanks! Im about 1 hr away, ill definitely check it out with my boy.

[@sandramartin5155]

Try Llano’s texas

[@spwinaustin]

I’ve definitely hunted the Llano River. Lots of good stuff!

[@paleoriverman1045]

Find any artifacts? Arrowheads?

[@spwinaustin]

Hi, and thanks for watching the video! I do occasionally find fossils but I primarily look for gemstones. Usually the fossils I find are of the ancient sea creature variety. I haven’t found any arrowheads but looking along river rock bars would make it less likely that I would find one. If I did see one I would certainly grab it!

[@paleoriverman1045]

@@spwinaustin outstanding!

[@FrankMuchnok]

I think that aquarium stores would be interested in some of the bigger fossilized wood and unusual rocks as tank decorations. They charge a pretty good price for the nicer ones.

[@spwinaustin]

Hey Frank, thanks for watching! You might be right about that. They would have a field day rockhounding that enormous rock bar!

[@dougclem7711]

Go north to Barksdale, petrified oysters.

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks for the tip Doug, and thanks for watching!

[@nunya5555]

I live between Hondo and Devine texas, and there are tons of fossils on our property.

[@spwinaustin]

Awesome, you’re in a good spot! Thanks for watching!

[@sandramartin5155]

Ricks are kinda like people it’s what’s on the inside that counts

[@spwinaustin]

Words to live by!😉

[@leebarry6445]

Fossil ？Dinosaur fossils or wooden fossils？

[@spwinaustin]

I’d saw mostly sea creatures with some occasional wood. Unfortunately no dinosaurs 😞. Thanks for watching!