FLORIDA
State Stone: Agatized Coral (1979)
State Gem: Moonstone (1970)
FLORIDA is an amazing state for rockhounding. A wide variety of petrified wood, agatized coral, chert, calcite, kaolin, staurolite, and many other rocks and minerals can be found here. Florida is very rich in fossils. In fact, this state is a fossil hunter’s paradise. Florida fossils range from 45 million-year-old “sand dollars” to bones and teeth from Ice-age sabertooth cats, which lived in Florida just 10,000 years ago. Bones from Ice-age mammoths and mastodons accumulate on stream beds. Shark teeth wash up on the sandy beaches of southwestern Florida.
Open-pit mineral mines and quarries statewide yield huge amounts of fossil bones, teeth, and shells from both land and marine animals.
Much of Florida’s bedrock, which is largely limestone, is comprised of the shells of animals that lived in the shallow seas once covering the state. Fossil seashells abound in the banks of both the Florida panhandle and southern Florida rivers. Florida Clam Shells are super find to find as well.
These are a few of the things you may want to take along with you on your dig:
A small, handheld garden rake
A handheld trowel
Knee pads or an old cushion to kneel/sit on
A bucket, for holding your finds
Newspaper or grocery bags to wrap and protect your crystals
While digging crystals you will probably be outside for a long time. You may want to bring:
Water
Snacks
A wide hat
Sunscreen
Bug spray, and a small first aid kit (Quartz can be sharp!)
INFORMATON
Go Crystal hunting in Florida for some awesome Golden Honey Calcite crystals! Other things that can be found are many type of shell fossils and sharks teeth!!
The Crystal Collector recommends going during the winter and cooler seasons if possible.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
- Screwdriver
- Gloves
- 3 prong hand cultivator
- 1 or 2 buckets
- Medium size pry bar
- Knee pads or something to kneel on
- Food/drinks
HOURS
Please call Eddie before going, sometimes he is out of town
Disclaimer
Please note that rock collecting locations are always changing so be sure to check with the site owner for the most current information before going.
We’ve listed several locations here but there may be many more that are not listed.
Dig safe, never go underground, and make sure to get permission from the landowner to search for and collect rocks.