Where can families go to dig on their own?
You can try numerous FOSSIL LOCALITIES, If you want to strike out on your own, there are fossil-hunting books and localities for most states. (Email me with any info on similar sites in your area!) Just make sure that wherever you hunt or dig, if on public land, that you are permitted to collect, or if on private land, you have the permission of the landowner. Here are a few:
ALL STATES
http://www.iwaynet.net/~mperona/fossil.htm Some 120 US Fossil Localities, grouped by State http://www.iwaynet.net/~mperona/fossil.htm by M. Perona ... Ohio -. Cincinnati (Ordovician) ...
www.palaeo-electronica.org/education/states.htm - 18k - May 30, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages
The Colossal-Fissil-Site: http://www.colossal-fossil-site.com/400-state.htm has far more info than you could ever imagine. Plan on spending much time on your butt looking at the info this site provides!
Fossil Localities - Part of Kuban's Paleo Place ... This site provides links to web sites on specific fossil localities regions, ... Fossil Hunter website by Mike Perona, Columbus, Ohio - Good site with ... http://paleo.cc/kpaleo/paleloca.htm
DELAWARE
Near beltzville state park near lake - C and D Canal - http://www.udel.edu/dgs/Paleontology/cdcanal.html
http://www.connaughton.washcoll.edu/academics/cnw/98fossiltrip.html
Fossils and Other Fossil Sites in Delaware and http://www.udel.edu/dgs/paleo.html
Delaware Geological Survey - Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Area also mentions Dagsboro, Middletown, Felton, and St. Georges
Not about fossils, but interesting - http://web.gmu.edu/bios/Bay/cbpo/intro.htm
MARYLAND
Maryland Geological Survey Fossil Collecting at Calvert Cliffs
Calvert county - Site leads : Site 1 - Brownie's Beach - South of Chesapeake Beach on Ma. Rt. 261. Phone:410-257-2230
Site 2 - Breezy Point Beach - Admission fee. East on Breezy Pt. Rd. from Rt 261. Phone:410-535-0259
Site 3 - Matoaka Beach Cabins- Admission fee. East of St. Leonard. Phone:410-586-0269
Site 4 - Flag Ponds Nature Park - Admission fee. 10 miles so. of Prince Frederick on Rt. 4. Phone:410-535-5327
Site 5 - Calvert Cliffs State Park - Admission fee. 14 miles so. of Prince Frederick on Rt. 4. Phone:301-888-1410
Maryland Geological Survey - County maps showing presence of fossils
NEW JERSEY
Fossil-Hunting Restrictions: Delaware Water Gap - http://www.nps.gov/dewa/InDepth/ImptRegs.html#flowers
Derek Yoost's Big Brook and Shark River - http://www.njfossils.net/
Big Brook - http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/bbrook/
Big Brook - http://www.njfossilman.com/MainDisplay.html
Sussex County - http://www.smalltownmedia.com/September/outdoors.htm
Montague (NW NJ) - http://www.nyps.org/fieldMay99.htm
Cretaceous insects and flowers - http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2002AM/finalprogram/abstract_42943.htm
NORTH CAROLINA
Aurora Fossil Museum: in Aurora, N.C.. There are many nearby slag piles of waste from the nearby phosphate mine and I have had great luck finding shark teeth, verts, ray plates and a number of other related sea fossils. (The mine itself is generally off-limits to all but recognized fossil clubs with reservations) http://www.aurorafossilmuseum.com/ Also, it's great for kids! They'll also be able to direct you to any nearby, accessible fossil sites. Jim Bourbon's Sharks and rays of N.C.: http://members.aol.com/tmerritt21/trip.htm ,
NC field trip summary - http://www.dallaspaleo.org/news/ftrips/20020323_02.htm
OHIO
Fossils of Ohio--The Book
Ohio Geology article from Fall 1996. Ohio Geology is a quarterly publication of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey. www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey/oh_geol/96_Fall/fossbook.htm .
Falls of the Ohio - What's New
... The Falls of the Ohio is a great place to see fossils, but collecting is illegal. There are other localities in the area where fossil collecting is ... www.fallsoftheohio.org/collecting.html http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/collecting.html Falls of the Ohio ...
Yahoo! Science>Earth Sciences>Palaeontology>Fossils
... Falls of the Ohio State Park Open site in a new window - located on the ... new window - virtual field trip to two fossil localities in central Nevada. ... http://sg.dir.yahoo.com/science/earth_sciences/palaeontology/Fossils/
Paleo Links ... Institute offers virtual field trips to famous fossil localities. ... Silurian reefs are found across northwest Ohio and other areas of the Great Lakes. ... www.mpm.edu/reef/intro.html
PENNSYLVANIA
The Pennsylvania Geological Survey website: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/collecting/fossilsintro.aspx This site includes info on fossil collecting, as well as info on specific fossil locales: One such site is Swatara Gap - http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/collecting/swataragap.aspx This site has been created (made safe) by the state because they've lessened the danger of climbing digging in dangerous areas by moving 400+ cubic yards of the fossiliforous rock to the nearby Swatera State Park. Check out the PGS other site photos at: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/PhotoGallery/
The Pennsylvania Geological Survey has a long history of providing educational materials on fossils, rocks, and minerals. Books on collecting localities have been some of the Survey’s most popular publications. Unfortunately, the listing of places to collect fossils and minerals, which were mostly on private property or dangerously close to busy highways, has caused problems, from safety issues to over-collecting, at these popular sites. Because of such troubles, and out of respect for the private landowner, the Survey suspended the publication of such documents. There are some non-PGS PA fossil books out there for amateur collectors.
INDIANA AND KENTUCKY
Thirteen Fossil Localities in Indiana and Kentucky ... Falls of the Ohio State Park.
Brief directions to Paleozoic localities, mostly road cuts. ... http://palaeo-electronica.org/education/13.htm
WYOMING
Fossil fish day digs in the Green River Formation . Kemmerer,WY Very resonable Rates. By LimitlessFossilFishPhil, earthsantiques@myway.com urs
VIRTUAL DINO & FOSSIL-HUNTING INFORMATION WEBSITES
Dinosaur Valley - Dinosaur digging vacation spot. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/fgm/lab/dig2000.html
Dinosaur Safaris, Inc. - Dinosaur field expeditions in Wyoming from Two Guys Fossils. http://www.dinosaursafaris.com/
Dinosaur Expedition 2000 - Daily updates as a 200 million year old dinosaur skeleton is collected from the research site from July 15-31, 2000. Fundy Geological Museum, Nova Scotia. http://www.projectexploration.org/mongolia/
Dinosaur Expedition 2001 - Inner Mongolia - Chronicle of a dinosaur expedition to Inner Mongolia in China.
Dinosaur Hunting with Paul Sereno - Description of two trips to the dinosaur beds of south eastern Wyoming under the direction of Dr. Paul Sereno, University of Chicago. http://ebeltz.net/pix/wypix/wyoming.html
Hunting Dinosaurs in the Deserts - Dinosaur hunting adventures in the North American deserts. Includes descriptions of, dinosaur fossils, dinosaur trace fossils, plate tectonics, the geologic time table and Pangea. http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/dec/stories/dinosafari.html
Paleontology on New Mexico Public Lands - The story of a dinosaur excavation, from the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM). http://www.nm.blm.gov/features/blm_paleo/blm_paleo.html
