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Fossils Close to Houston?


Pterosaur

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Hi there!

I have the week off from work for the holidays, and would like to do a little fossil hunting! I live in north Houston; which is pretty much barren of fossils to my knowledge.

Does anyone know of a couple areas where I could find fossils (legally)? Ideally these places would be within a two hour drive, but I'm open to further locations.

I appreciate any suggestions! :)

Lauren

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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Whiskey Bridge would be the most obvious suggestion. But with the crazy weather recently the river may be too high. Do a search on the forum for directions and check the river gauges.

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Whiskey Bridge would be the most obvious suggestion. But with the crazy weather recently the river may be too high. Do a search on the forum for directions and check the river gauges.

I can't believe I'd never heard of this place! Looks awesome. And thanks for the heads up. I'll check the gauges. Hopefully I can go out before the holiday's end.

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi there!

I have the week off from work for the holidays, and would like to do a little fossil hunting! I live in north Houston; which is pretty much barren of fossils to my knowledge.

Does anyone know of a couple areas where I could find fossils (legally)? Ideally these places would be within a two hour drive, but I'm open to further locations.

I appreciate any suggestions! :)

Lauren

Hey Lauren,

I'm in Houston as well, I'll probably be checking out Whiskey Bridge sometime soon if you already haven't I'll send you pictures of finds. Houston area is pretty much Pleistocene at the oldest (Beaumont formation) so we don't have many interesting fossils here at all. Austin has cretaceous era limestone formations that you can find stuff like ammonites in the Austin Chalk formation as well as heart urchins and other echinoids. I believe the Whiskey bridge has a lot of gastropods, bivalves and shark teeth from the Eocene. Hope you have fun collecting!

p.s. if you're ever in Austin or San Antonio and you see a road cut, or a drainage ditch in limestone... check it out, you will find all sorts of stuff

Edited by kville79
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Awesome!

Hey Lauren,

I'm in Houston as well, I'll probably be checking out Whiskey Bridge sometime soon if you already haven't I'll send you pictures of finds. Houston area is pretty much Pleistocene at the oldest (Beaumont formation) so we don't have many interesting fossils here at all. Austin has cretaceous era limestone formations that you can find stuff like ammonites in the Austin Chalk formation as well as heart urchins and other echinoids. I believe the Whiskey bridge has a lot of gastropods, bivalves and shark teeth from the Eocene. Hope you have fun collecting!

p.s. if you're ever in Austin or San Antonio and you see a road cut, or a drainage ditch in limestone... check it out, you will find all sorts of stuff

Awesome!! Thanks, Kville, for all the useful info. I need to check out Whiskey Bridge, and I'd love to see your pictures! I've been hunting a little in Austin, but only found a little trace fossil. (Still cool).

Have you ever been hunting at the Texas dike?? I've heard that some neat Pleistocene mammal stuff used to come out of there... Ive hunted down there before, and found a little fossil vert and rib. Also a dead sea turtle. Had no idea they lived in the area...

"I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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Have you joined the Houston Gem and Mineral Society? They have the resources to help you to find great fossil sites across the state and they often have field trips.

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Lauren,

You NEED to go to the Houston Gem and Mineral Society...for me, as a beginner and new to Texas, its been very helpful.

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