Rockhounding is the recreational collecting of rocks and/or mineral specimens from their natural environment.
Early rockhounds were prospectors looking for valuable minerals and gemstones for commercial purposes. Eventually, however, more and more people have been drawn to rockhounding for recreational purposes, mainly for the beauty that rocks and minerals provide.
The rockhound's principle piece of equipment is the rock hammer. This small tool has a pick-like point on one end, and a flat hammer on the other. It should be noted, however, that the hammer end is for breaking rocks, and the pick end is mainly used for prying and digging into crevasses. The pick end of most rock hammers can dull quickly if struck onto bare rock.
More on [ Rockhounding ]
Rock and Mineral Localities :: Rocks and Minerals
Shopping :: Rocks and Minerals
Prospecting :: Mining

Opal Mine - Specialize in Oregon thundereggs as well as various other Oregon materials. Plus home for the Rock Shops Opal Mine. Includes sharp photographs.
Meta Description: [ Oregon Thundereggs & Various other Oregon Rocks Gems Minerals ]
4 Facets. - Information about lapidary, collecting gems and rock hounding. Offers tumbling equipment and also gifts.
Meta Description: [ A Collector's Paradise! Everything for the rock hound, jewelry maker, gem cutter, mineralogist, collector and craftsman. From Agate to Zosite you will find it all at FACETS, open 7 days a week in Newport, Oregon. 4facets.com is more than just a rock shop online: Place your orders today with per... ]
Blue Hollow Sapphire Mine and Fossicking Park - Sapphire mine located near Sapphire in Central Queensland, Australia. Learn about sapphires and where to go fossicking for them when you visit Central Queensland.
Cape Cod Rocks - Pictorial museum, exhibiting gems, fossils, rocks, and mineral specimens.
ELS Jr. Rockhounds - Club is located in Evansville, Indiana, and open to youngsters ages 9-16. Study earth sciences, field trips and shows.
Gem Guides Book Company - Book distributor of books on gems, rockhounding, crystals, mineral collecting, lapidary and jewelrymaking.
Meta Description: [ book distributor of gembooks, rockhounding & crystal books, rock & mineral collecting books, lapidary & jewelrymaking books. Books on gold prospecting, treasure hunting, fossil collecting & more. ]
Geology Adventures - Founded in 1983. Book rockhounding field trips for clubs and organizations.
Meta Description: [ Geology Adventures provides collecting opportunities and learning experiences to over 1000 people per year. If collecting abundant mineral specimens amid spectacular mountain scenery appeals to you, try our Spruce or Rock Candy adventures. ]
Interior British Columbia - Geology and paleontology tours. Photographs of recent mineral and fossil finds in and around the Kamloops area.
Meta Description: [ British Columbia Fossil Sales ]
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Kentucky Agate Collecting - Personal collection of Kentucky agate and other materials. Related links page, including clubs.
Kreigh's Web Resources - A large collection of links and original information for Rockhounds about geology, minerals, fossils, lapidary, rock clubs, and other related subjects. Many dealer sites have also been included.
Meta Description: [ Kreigh's Web Resources Collection for Rockhounds is a set of links about the hobby of collecting Rocks and Minerals (and lapidary of same). ]
Marco's Italian Minerals - Private collection, trade lists, research; and exchange experiences with other rockhounds. Only site that trades exclusively in Italian, or alpine minerals.
Meta Description: [ Marco Macchieraldo’s minerals, interesting mineral specimens for collectors. ]
Minerals, Specimens and Crystals - Online link direct to the mines and lapidary shops for mineral specimens and crystals, display specimens, unique decorator and collector pieces.
MinMax - Mineral Information system - Searchable, interactive database of minerals, localities and other rockhounding information.
Meta Description: [ MinMax - Mineral Information System is a multi-language, open, very extensive and interactive database of minerals,
locality references, minerals links, forums and many other features for mineral collectors. ]
Nikolay Gospodinov Collection - Bilingual Russian and English language site with photos and information on the mineral and fossil collection of Nikolay Gospodinov.
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Norwegian Rockhound - Photos of Norwegian minerals, with short descriptions of the geological parageneses they were found in.
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Rick Westerholm's Idaho Gem Trails Page - Rock hounding site featuring photos of gem and mineral specimens collected in the state of Idaho.
Meta Description: [ Tripod is a free web host with easy site building tools for blogs, photo albums, Microsoft FrontPage(®) support, and ftp, as well as a variety of subscription packages to choose from. Features include safe and reliable hosting, online help, and a variety of tools and services to give the flexibil... ]
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Rockhound - Located on the rugged west slope of the Little Florida Mountains, the park is a favorite for rockhounds because of the abundant agates and quartz crystals found there. Hiking trails provide spectacular views of the surrounding landscape.
Rockhounding Arkansas - An authoritative and comprehensive guide to Arkansas geology, minerals, and the hobby of rockhounding. Written by the well known geologist Mike Howard.
Meta Description: [ A comprehensive and authoritative guide to the hobby of rock collecting, a primer on geology, plus Arkansas minerals. ]
Rockhounds Information Page - Link list and information about the rockhounds mailing list.
Tucson Gem and Mineral Show Guide - Information and show schedules for the annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show featuring extensive illustrated reports by Bob Keller.
Meta Description: [ Colored Stone Magazine - your guide to selling, style, and sources in the Colored Gemstone Industry ]
Virgin Valley Opals - Includes collection sites, geology and history of the area.
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