COLLECTING GOETHITE AND FOSSILS
NEAR PRESTON, GEORGIA
by Ray Hill
These are actually two great collecting sites that are about a mile from each other. One is on a small county dirt road and the other is a road cut on a small county paved road. This location is about mid-way between the small town of Preston, Georgia and Buena Vista, Georgia.
I visited this site this past weekend, 1/8/2006, with a couple of rock-buddies and we all collected about as much material as each could possibly ever need. I found eight football size geodes and lots of broken pieces. I found three specimens that had a scallop-type sea shell imprint on the outside.
Goethite is named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and we would pronounce it "Ger-tite". (I know it's not spelled that way.) The best looking specimens are those that have a very shiny, glassy, look in one area. Goethite is a hydrogen iron oxide. It has a hardness of 5 to 5-1/2.
To get to this collecting site go to the small town of Buena Vista, Georgia. It is situated just southwest of Columbus, Georgia and southeast of Macon, Georgia. Once at Buena Vista, go south on State Highway 41, about ten miles, to Slaughter Road (County Road 96) on the right. Turn right and go about 3-1/2 miles. Note: I did not check the mileage in the car so this is an approximation. There will be a road cut on both sides of the road here. It is a typical Georgia red clay looking material in the banks. (There’s lots of iron oxide staining the dirt!). You can find the Goethite geodes in the banks on both sides of the road.
When you look at the bank, what looks like just plain dirt lumps or clods, sticking out of the bank, will actually be the geodes. Try to remove them from the bank without breaking them. You can always break them open once you get it out of the bank. Chances are you'll ruin a beautiful specimen by just striking it with your hammer while in the bank.
From this site, continue on down the paved road for about two to three hundred yards. Fox Creek Road (County Road 51) will be on your left. Turn left and go about three-fourths of a mile. Start looking in the ditches on both sides of the road here. There's lots of material here, but most of the pieces will be broken. There are Posted signs on both sides of the road. Please honor these and do not trespass! But, don't worry, you'll find plenty of material in the ditches and road-cuts without wandering into the Posted areas. Look for the really shiny material. Also, examine all the chunks of material you pick up carefully. You'll find sea-shell imprints in some pieces. This land was underwater millions of years ago. The fossils are not plentiful, but, you can find them.
Happy rock hunting.
Ray Hill
Great South Gems & Minerals, Inc.
www.greatsouth.net
888-933-GEMS
Note: Only rock clubs have permission to print this article but must give credit to the author, Ray Hill, and Great South Gems & Minerals, Inc. For everyone else, please email us for permission.
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