Fossil Hunting 101 | Where to Look for Fossils, and How to Find Them

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You didn't think finding fossils would be as simple as sitting in your backyard with a trowel, did you? Fossil hunting involves tools for excavation (such as a hammer, pick, and shovel), smaller chiseling tools, sample bags, a camera, and more. Dig into the tools and permits you'll need for a successful excavation.
This video is Episode 12 from the video series Practical Geology, presented by James F. P. Cotter. To learn more about geology, visit: www.wondrium.com
00:00 Darwin's Fascination for Geology
03:55 The Story behind Dinosaur 13
05:59 Legal Guidelines for Fossil Collecting
08:57 Useful Fossil Hunting Gear
12:22 Finding Fossil Localities
14:46 Locating Fossil Hunting Guides
18:53 Fossil Hunting Field Safety and Geography
22:39 Studying River Sediments and Shorelines
25:41 Decoding Your Fossils
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#Geology #Fossils #CueTheJurassicParkMusic

[@963ag]

Following in the footsteps of my uncle, I developed a fervent interest in paleontology and geology. While still in elementary school, I had quite a collection - rare and varied specimens. Long story, but my life led me in different directions and pursuits. I am now 60 years old and this interest has returned. I have begun collecting again. I particularly like invertebrates - trilobites, crinoids, sea slabs, echinoderms, bryozoans corals, but also plant and fish fossils.

[@alexanderzagula1994]

That exact thing happened to me, I’ve loved the outdoors and dinosaurs and collecting things, and now I love geology

[@artisticevan2358]

i'm a giant astrophysics nerd, but god do I love paleontology and fossils.

[@patriciakloeppel9863]

subscribed love your youtube channel I do a lot of rock collecting and find a few here in Arizona, excellent tips

[@riverside4339]

Good information, it got me hooked

[@fruityhag8926]

i love to hike and dfindd natural wonders and oddities, but i've never been fossil hunting with intention! my partner and i are going on a road trip into vermont this weekend, and this guide has been very helpful!! thank u so much!!

[@realtaiter3991]

If scientists didn’t shut down job sites when fossils are found, or steal the item from the person who found it, maybe more would be brought to their attention.

[@justindunlap1235]

Straight up, I was working on digging the foundation for a riverfront house, we started finding Indian artifacts, long story short the foundation got poured 4 years later because the property owner reported the finds.

[@u.s.militia7682]

A mastodon, wooly mammoth and giant short faced bear fossils have been found here in Saltville Virginia. I look for fossils all the time but only find concretions of shells. Should I look higher in the mountains or lower near the rivers and streams for fossils? I’ve collected many over the years and have no idea of what I have. I think I even have footprint fossils.

[@anthonydoyle7370]

I'm really disappointed. I thought you were going to say, " A mastodon, woolly mammoth and short faced bear walked into a bar." lol.

[@kkittycatkat1990]

@ 5:15 This is where the term "Indian giver" came from. "Oh, yeah! Sure you can go fossil hunting!" After finding a land mine: "It's mine!" "It's all mine!"

[@franciscojose6496]

Good job in information tank you

[@tomgucwa7319]

Limestones , shales , chalk , clays?.not too old , go-to streams an shores and zones of high rates of erosion , and or bulldozers.

[@ivandorsey]

I found a fossil on a rock in my yard yesterday it's smaller than a dime a sponge I think (eastern Nebraska)

[@ediacaran630]

Good !

[@JohnnyButtons]

I bought some nice fossils from Ross Geller back in the late ‘90s.

[@kieranknoke2284]

Any places in Phoenix Arizona??

[@GrandmaBev64]

I have had many fossils. Still have quite a few. I have tried to show my fossils. I have a petrified crab leg, as best as I can tell. It's awesome. It was found at the mouth of the Klamath River in California. I have been looking for someone to show it to.I really like petrified wood too.

[@hawkmattz4215]

I work in Klamath and would love to see it. Still been hoping to find a peice of petrified wood for myself.

[@GrandmaBev64]

@@hawkmattz4215 The Best place I've found for finding petrified fossils and bones, are at extreme low tides, at the mouth of the Klamath, on the riverbed, where the river and ocean meet, and in Cresent City, where the Jedi and city park come together, especially after a storm. I used to dig in the exposed giant rocks and along the shore, where all the seaweed and stuff mangle up together, inside of those piles, are all kinds of treasures. Some are stinky though, until cleaned up. They have an electric wheelchair there now too. It's free with preregistration.

[@FOBanimates]

A bit late, but a place I found to have way too many specimens of petrified wood is Perranporth beach in Cornwall, UK. I tried searching for other things but it was just petrified wood. *Everywhere.* I did find a specimen with amber embedded in it and a piece of a clam shell fossilized in agate. Just saying, if you ever need petrified wood, go to that beach at some point.

[@wanderlustexcursion]

Thanks sir, you are beautiful teacher

[@gkess7106]

What is the source of the map shown at 12:45?

[@zemetrius]

found some crinoid fossils in the mountains around pahrump in southern nevada, this area was the floor of the sea that was once here, according to what information i could find. i look for more every time i go out to the gold claim.

[@Manatee724]

Wait! Caesars creek, I fish there all the time. I need to know where to go to find these trilobite fossils!! Ugh.

[@Steph-sk3xb]

Look for an area what would have been under water hundreds of years ago which will probably be anywhere near the shore.

[@gastonadrien2692]

Thank you, I’m fossil hunting today

[@TheGreatCourses]

Glad to be of service! Let us know what you find.

[@jamesalann2261]

As a serious fossil geek and lifelong collector, I can emphatically tell you that half the fun is knowing you’re not supposed to be out there! In other words, private property doesn’t stop the serious guys!

[@bonnieplushtuber5517]

Anyone know any sites in Connecticut?

[@thetooginator153]

Some constructive criticism: when starting a 30-minute video about how to find fossils, I think it would be smart to get to the point quickly. A lot of KZbinrs pad runtime with filler, and it’s a turn off. Talking about how Charles Darwin’s hobbies is a great way to tell your audience that they are going to have to very patient to get to the “how to find fossils” part.

[@bowold3976]

agreed it also instantly dismisses any possibility of creation or a creator being the reason for civilization. Darwin was a evolutionist as well as a freemason. The deeper you look into history the real history more obvious it becomes it has been rewritten and altered beyond belief.

[@sonicvilleras]

I hit the fast forward until I see what I wanna see lol. But I agree: just get to the point. This didnt come up on your feed, we all looked for it. If you know your audience is looking for it, you dont need to give us a class on what it is were already interested in.

[@thetooginator153]

@@sonicvilleras - Exactly! The “class on what it is we’re already interested in” describes the problem perfectly! I think it pads the runtime and is a major turnoff. As you said, we’re interested in the subject described in the title. It’s pretty rare that I watch videos over ten minutes long (preferably less), unless I really know the video creator’s work. Otherwise, I assume it’s mostly padding.

[@candiiyadigg3880]

It’s divided you can easily skip to that part, it doesn’t hurt to intake some new info, if not there are short videos everywhere on her or even TIKTOK for people with a shorter attention span.

[@RuinedTemple]

@@bowold3976 Evolution is an accepted & supported scientific theory in the scientific community, but creationism is not. Therefore, when presenting scientific concepts & theories, sharing scientific information, or educating others on scientific subjects, scientists & those who educate others on scientific subjects shouldn't be expected to present creationist concepts like they're accepted & supported by the scientific community, nor should they be expected to omit evolutionary theory or concepts- especially when they're pertinent to or apply to the subjects they're covering, & they certainly shouldn't be expected to alter their presentations simply for the comfort of those who disagree with such an important & longstanding scientific theory because it doesn't mesh well with their interpretation of the modern incarnation of their sacred text. By the way, the theory of evolution in no way dismisses the idea that their may be some form of intelligent design or even a conscious creative force responsible for creating the universe, everything in existence, life, etc. ** It just doesn't jive with how SOME Christians INTERPRET what they've read from parts of the modern version of the Christian bible. ** I personally don't think that it makes much sense to assume that a divine force was directly responsible for creating civilization, as that was something that humans very obviously developed & it's never really been considered to be intrinsically related to divine creation... kind of like how humans also designed & created things like cities, horticulture, agriculture, animal husbandry, infrastructure, etc. Science has also been able to find, from ancient artifacts & evidence found, that humans slowly developed civilization over time. Perhaps you were mistaken in your understanding of the definition of what exactly civilization is?

[@jameshurley6021]

discussions ensued about Sue? that's a polite euphemism....

[@franciscojose6496]

Yes of course that's amanzing channel pure information

[@robertstone9988]

No body cared about sue till they saw the doller signs

[@JingZhang-wk9ky]

I have a coral in my garden

[@davidhart5344]

I always loved geology but was never any good at cosines and tangents

[@chinajoebinlying1773]

Most museums will just put them in a box out of site of the public.

[@thuthuycao2456]

woww

[@rdavidmurphy1]

I guess there are no fossils outside the US or your title would indicate differently

[@lakota123max]

how sad that we have to ask the masters permission to fossil hunt in the states..geez.....

[@whirledpeas3477]

Geez...lol

[@j.b.4340]

I hunt driveway gravel.

[@shawnlindow9608]

I found a few small fossils in my own driveway gravel in upstate New York

[@fw1240]

Yep. Limestone, probably 👍🏻

[@mikewarriner2988]

I'm find I keep simply put change my mind

[@pierreliew]

sadly there aren't many fossils around where i live

[@fw1240]

If there's limestone driveways/landscaping, there's fossils.

[@YourLocalAuntMiki]

😶

[@Snail_watcher]

Vertebrate fossils are overrated.

[@elisejaudon925]

So to look properly? I can only look where they tell me to look. I can only find what they tell me to find. If I find junk and its approved, I may keep it. If I find anything interesting, I have to trade it for approved junk. Certainly dose take any excitement or joy away emeideatly. This guy would have you walk around and bendover when told to. He will tell you everything you're allowed to know or believe . No fun for me. I guess he liked that part of his education.

[@knaperstekt7953]

What are you even on about? You should stay off the internet when on your medication.

[@daledarkes5344]

Please inform iiii I i

[@Ryan98063]

Typical archaeologist unsurprisingly they don't trust the rest of us, educated or not. As a Newfoundlander, I have difficulty telling between true archaeologists who are in it for the knowledge vs those who are in it for the fame

[@mandamiddle0278]

ohio naaaaaah

[@2Goiz_1ShanDA]

Good luck proving anybody got them off of private land pal!😂. And I've got an authoritative last name in the industry I can get along with charging a lot more. bennett

[@TheSwanvillan]

But do we look both ways before crossing the road?!? Should we refrain from needlessly murdering other people in the quarry with us?!?! Should we juggle live hand grenades near fragile rock outcrops or not?!?! I think 'Fossil Hunting SAFETY AND LEGALITY FOR IDIOTS; (Oh and a bit about how to find out where to find fossils maybe)' would be a much more accurate title.

[@edbarskite2730]

LIKE HOW THEY FOUND ELASTIC BONE MARROW,. NOAH'S FLOOD WAS ROUND 8000 YRS AGO, WHICH MAKES SENSE,,

[@mouthofspaghetti7817]

I like how you skip the part about the marrow gaining elasticity, only after after being treated with acid. Sorry your invisible sky wizard doesn't do the real. It be the fake, beLIEvers must have the Fake'th.

[@fw1240]

You misidentified crinoids, just fyi.

[@christianquingcong227]

Accept Jesus now and forsake sins Jesus is coming

[@haraldschmidt8828]

Religious fanatics make humanity dumber.

[@sH-ed5yf]

No mate finding fossils is more fun

[@christianquingcong227]

@sH-ed5yf repent for your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus now he is coming back

[@sH-ed5yf]

@@christianquingcong227 Sure kid. My family is fine. Without your religios propaganda

[@sH-ed5yf]

@@christianquingcong227 wow. Talking about fossils and now a doomsday cultist. That escalated quickly

[@edbarskite2730]

FOSSIL ARE REMNANTS OF NOAHS FLOOD, BURIED QUICKLY,,

[@BasementBear]

If this was remotely true, do you feel this was the proper way to present your theory?

[@mouthofspaghetti7817]

Your CAPS lock button is stuck👍 Just looking out for you, didn't want you to come across as an ranting idiot.

[@Steph-sk3xb]

@@BasementBearI think it’s somewhat true. That flood would have been responsible for a lot of fossils. They’ve always been around though.

[@BasementBear]

@@Steph-sk3xb There is also the problem that there can be no fossils in the creationist timeline, with the consensus being that a fossil is at least 10000 years old.