Any fellow rock hunters?

[LilFinnGirl]

I found them in a river and they're pretty smooth except that they're covered with these nail-like things, which you can see in the picture.
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Looks like some flavor of fossil to me! A frozen piece of pre-history.

 

[LilFinnGirl]

Here is some more stuff I have no idea what it is. They're extremely light for their size and can be broken with your hands. I found them (and a bigger piece that I had broken and not kept) on the shoreline of a man-made lake a couple of years ago. These pieces intrest me so I've tried researching them, but haven't had much luck.

Some sort of limestone or calcium deposit maybe?

 

[LilFinnGirl]

Some soapstone birds and a carved piece that my Mom bought me at a rock store:

Love, love, love these! Much happy

 

[LilFinnGirl]

Here's another angle of it (the lighting made it look brighter, but it also showed the reddish hue it has in some places) :

Here's a size comparison with a Hot Wheels (which I also collect) :

To me, this looks like a nice big piece of slag, a byproduct of smelting iron. But I am no expert! There’s an iron foundry nearby and we sometimes get smaller chunks of a similar color and texture showing up on beaches.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Here is some random rocks (and a piece of volcanic rock) around my plants:


I have no idea what this is, but there was a lot of it when I got these two pieces. I found them in a river and they're pretty smooth except that they're covered with these nail-like things, which you can see in the picture.
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Get me some closeups. They both look like they're full of fossils. Also if you can say generally where you found them, I might be able to track them to a specific bed. Where's our aspiring palentologist? Paging @Shabby Chic-Hens

Now this last rock, I found in the middle of the woods when I was younger. I go back and forth of it being super valuable, but I'm not sure. If it was by the ocean, I would have assumed it was volcanic, but it was nowhere near the ocean. I have often wondered if it was a meteorite, especially after seeing pieces like this: EXTREMELY RARE!!! Wabar impact oxidizid iron meteorite&some impact glass, melt sands 141.08 g. I highly doubt that is what it is, and I have been questioning if it's just something from a nearby railroad or something and probably should be thrown away.

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Here's another angle of it (the lighting made it look brighter, but it also showed the reddish hue it has in some places) :

All those tiny holes are from gasses in the molten rock offgassing at the surface and cooling. super common with volcanism, but equally common with foundries. Any old steel mills near where you found it?

The red banding is Iron oxidizing out, which again is super common in both.

HAVING SAID THAT,

It isn't a meteorite. They're almost always smooth. Ejecta from an impact CAN look like that, for a few thousand years after the impact. It weathers pretty quickly and either crumbles away or smooths out all the rough surfaces. Any craters near you or where you found it?

If I were putting a wager down, I'd lean toward slag initially. If you can narrow down where it was found, we might be able to really nail it.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

I’m here!
Yes, I am planning on getting a degree in paleontology in five years! The Dakotas are beautiful!

 

[LilFinnGirl]

I’m here!
Yes, I am planning on getting a degree in paleontology in five years! The Dakotas are beautiful!

Do you have any photos of your fav specimens?

Do you have any idea what kind of fossils are in @Lacy Duckwing ’s post?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Some sort of limestone or calcium deposit maybe?

I looked these up, and they seem too solid to be that. Maybe on the calcium deposit, but I still couldn't find anything similar.

To me, this looks like a nice big piece of slag, a byproduct of smelting iron. But I am no expert! There’s an iron foundry nearby and we sometimes get smaller chunks of a similar color and texture showing up on beaches.

I looked that up, and I think that's it! I found a few pictures that looked like it, so I'm really thinking that's what it is. The only thing is I found it in the middle of the woods, so I don't know how it got there or where it came from.

 

[RadEggs]

Would love to see your prized finds!
I live close to Lake Superior so mostly hunt for Lake Superior Agates.
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Fiery phoenix chicken agate

I also collect any fossils I can find, and have piles upon piles of “cool” rocks that aren’t valuable to anyone but me.

All my favorites are just "normal rocks"
I do go look for rocks sometimes, while on hikes and stuff, and at the beach, but I don't usualy like the shiny ones. I have a speckled one I call peanut rock, because it vaguely reminds me of a peanut. (You would be underwhelmed by a photo)

 

[LilFinnGirl]

I looked these up, and they seem too solid to be that. Maybe on the calcium deposit, but I still couldn't find anything similar.

I looked that up, and I think that's it! I found a few pictures that looked like it, so I'm really thinking that's what it is. The only thing is I found it in the middle of the woods, so I don't know how it got there or where it came from.

Life’s little mysteries All cool finds! I wonder if there was an old railroad in the area, or what was there before it was woods. Hmmm…