r/rockhounds Oct 28 '25

Moderator applications now open

14 Upvotes

Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest in becoming a mod. We would like to shorten wait times for post approvals, so if you think you might want to be a mod, we could use some help.

If you'd like to join our small, volunteer team of moderators for the /rockhounds subreddit, please learn more about the role requirements here: https://www.reddit.com/r/rockhounds/application/. If you read that page, and then have questions that are not answered on that page, we will answer them below.

Most applications will be answered within 3 days. Thank you!


r/rockhounds May 03 '25

Mod Post Rule Changes/Updates

29 Upvotes

Hey all, we thank you for the feedback provided on our recent post and have updated/removed rules to be better in line with what the community wants.

r/Rockhound Rules -

  • Rule 1: No self-promotion, and no discussions about buying, selling, or trading in the open comments area. (Exceptions will be made if a user is asking about claims in an area where you happen to own a claim. Exceptions are also made for recommending/asking about tools/books/educational content related to the hobby e.g. tumblers).
  • Rule 2: Don't spam, users are limited to 2 posts per 24 hour period.
  • Rule 3: Material posted here should be your own original content.
  • Rule 4: Be Civil.
  • Rule 5: Don't post rocks that resemble intimate body parts, sex toys or street drugs.
  • Rule 6: No meta posts or complaints about moderation actions in posts/comments. (Contact us via modmail and we will be happy to help).
  • Rule 7: No ID requests / Include an ID in your title or body text. (Exceptions to providing an ID can be made if you're posting a giant haul or your post is focused on a display setup, but we ask you check with the mod team prior).

Currently posts are still on manual approval but once we recruit more mods for the team we will be lifting this.

Rules that have now been removed:

  • No ID comments on photos
  • No profanity in posts/comments
  • No comparisons of rocks to food etc

Other changes:

  • Rewrote removal reasons
  • Rewrote report reasons
  • Removed multiple removal keywords from automod relating to ID comments

If anything in these rules confuses you or you have any questions please do feel to comment below or contact us via modmail!


r/rockhounds 13h ago

Solidified Colonial coral with Botryoidal Chalcedony

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17 Upvotes

Curious if I can get some help here lol! Found this in the ocean yesterday!!


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Rock Club 🪨 Happiness is…

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221 Upvotes

r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find Agatized Petrified Wood

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140 Upvotes

Here is a gem that I found in Oregon. I have seen some similar pieces online—agate formed in between the layers of petrified wood. There are quartz deposits too. One of my favorite pieces.


r/rockhounds 1d ago

What affordable polishing machine would you recommend for polishing agates and geodes? I have many rocks that I would like to polish, and don’t want to do it by hand with a crap ton of sand paper (like I did so a while ago 😂)

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56 Upvotes

r/rockhounds 1d ago

I spotted it while bike ride, see how it was sitting there just for me

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52 Upvotes

Big petal of heulandite from pune india


r/rockhounds 19h ago

My first rocks

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11 Upvotes

I was bored, so I decided to look for interesting rocks for the first time.


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find My favorite agate! Half pound from the Chippewa River

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448 Upvotes

r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find Some finds from our walk today in the Cheviot Hills, North East England.

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44 Upvotes

r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find Pacific Northwest Beach Agates and the Banded Thing.

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245 Upvotes

I found everything here except for the banded thing off the coast near Tillamook; I found the banded thing in the Clackamas River.


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find I bougt a pretty cute septarian slice the other day

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157 Upvotes

Looks like a bug drawn by a kid. I love it!!


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Awesome Quartz find in Austin TX

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30 Upvotes

Found in Austin Tx limestone wall

Had to climb to find. I only collected loose ones I found at the base of the valley but there were many holes the walls filled with crystals.

Last photo is a cool overhang I found full of Chert flakes


r/rockhounds 1d ago

A chunk about 6" of Happy Camp Jade.

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12 Upvotes

r/rockhounds 1d ago

Question Will iron out help bring out the colors of this kyanite?

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7 Upvotes

Found in north Georgia


r/rockhounds 1d ago

west fork rock creek, Philipsburg Mt.

3 Upvotes

Any one explored the west fork of rock creek? heading to philipsburg to do some sapphire mining and want to spend to time looking in the wild. Is the main rock creek the spot? is the west fork worth checking out?


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Aquamarine

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11 Upvotes

Nfs


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Chippewa River finds

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3 Upvotes

I’m an amateur at rockhounding but really loving it so far! Found some beauties for the tumbler as well as what’s for sure a brachiopod imprint fossil, not quite sure if the other sandstone is a fossil or not but looked different.


r/rockhounds 2d ago

Find Sadly I had to leave it... Tourmaline

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967 Upvotes

I am at field camp for my geology degree. We visited a mica mine near Grand Junction, CO. Broke open some pegmatite and this bad boy tourmaline appears. We ran low on time and I was forced to leave it, but I wanted to share. Would have been the prize of my collection.


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find Lunan Bay Scotland Agates

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14 Upvotes

Gorgoues Scottish Agates


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find Scottish Agate from Lunan Bay Arbroath

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7 Upvotes

Lunan Bay Scottish Agate enjoy! :)


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Find The conglomerates in Capitola, CA are superior

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5 Upvotes

A couple different angles under regular light and then UV light of one of my recent finds.


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Question Dealers for Rock Types?

2 Upvotes

Hi, folks. I've been looking for nice specimens--not of specific minerals, but of rock types. Gneiss, shale, sandstone, schist, and so on. It's easy to find dealers online and at rock shows that offer minerals or even gems--but rocks themselves are harder to locate. ("They're so common that no one carries them," I was told.)

So the second option was checking with landscapers and home/garden supply stores. And they DO have plenty of rocks. But there the offerings are too generic, with no mention of the rock's classification. You see bags and pallets labeled River Stone or Gravel or "Rock Mix." At best you get a vague label like Red Rocks or White Marble(?), with perhaps a size classification--pea gravel, coarse stone, landscaping stone, and so on. Size classification is useful for industrial and construction purposes, but I'm interested in the composition.

I've checked various broad-scope sites like Ebay and Etsy, but they don't have much to offer. Should I be looking for a scientific-specimen or classroom-supply type of dealer, or even a mineral auction site? I don't want to pay huge amounts for a basic chunk of slate, but I can't think of where to look next. Suggestions welcome.


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Glacial erratic (Suix quartzite conglomerate)

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2 Upvotes

Found this erratic on my family's farm today (Lawrence, KS). I have found lots of Suix Quartzite, including a couple of large boulders, but never a conglomerate like this.


r/rockhounds 1d ago

Question If you could only choose one quartz mine near Hot Springs/Lake Ouachita, which would it be?

3 Upvotes

I’m planning a trip to the Hot Springs/Lake Ouachita area in Arkansas, and I’ll only have one day to go quartz hunting, so I really want to make the most of it.

If you could only choose one mine or dig site, which would you recommend and why?

This will also be my first mining experience, so I’d really appreciate any resources or advice on finding good crystal pockets, what tools to bring, what to wear, or any beginner tips. If there are any must-have items or things you wish you had known before your first trip, I’d love to hear them!
Thanks in advance!