Notes on Collecting Fossils

1. Respect private property. Enough said.

2. Look in the gravels. Most formations have at there base eroded gravals that always have the best fossils naturally etched out of the matrix. It is seldom necessary to go collecting with a hammer.

3. Know basin and range geology If you are familiar with the basics of basin and range geolgy a lot of time can be saved looking for a collecting site.

4. Know how to identify rocks The links section of this site can help with that.

The Concha Limestone can be decerned from the Rain Valley by the absence of siltstone and mudstone found in the Rain Valley Formation above. Move your mouse over the picture above to see the divide more clearly. The Rain Valley Formation rests conformably on the Concha limestone, the different rocks representing different depositional environments.

*From the Southern Arizona Guidebook III