Recently Asked
“Hi, I found this rock on the beach in Santa Barbara a few days after Hurricane Hilary. Just wondeting if this in an authentic artifact? Thanks, Mike”
Mike, Santa Barbara - August 23, 2023
“Good morning,
I found a rock near where I live in Santa Barbara, and I polished it, please help identify what kind of rock it is.
Thank you.”
Maria, Santa Barbara - May 2, 2023
“Hello,
I was kayaking in a northern MN mine pit and it's very unusual and as big as my hand and it's cracked in half but I have the two pieces. The inside almost looked like a giant jawbreaker cand...”
Laci, Saginaw, MN - July 25, 2022
“Hi,
My seven-year-old daughter has asked me many times, "Is this a fossil?', and sadly I am never able to answer.
I have attached pics of three different rocks.
The first is from a beach in Ventur...”
Andy, Ventura - June 19, 2022
“Hi Geologists -
Out in the Santa Ynez Valley at the corner of Happy Canyon Rd. and Baseline Rd. in the streambead I found these very large rocks. They were too big to move (small boulders?).
They ar...”
Robert, Santa Barbara - March 20, 2022
“I was below the Shoreline Park on the mesa. In the rubble at the bottom of the shale bluffs a found several pieces of what appears to be marble with veins of other hard rock through it. Could it be ma...”
Robert, Santa Barbara city - February 4, 2022
“I found some interesting Rocks that look like fossilized eggs but have no ideas to what they are. Size is approximately that of an A4 sized paper.
I have uploaded pictures where found thereof here......”
Anthony, Tanzania - January 9, 2022
“I have read about the notably dark sedimentary layer within the Beechers Bay Formation at Arlington Springs Canyon at Santa Rosa Island. According to Kennett et al., the nanodiamonds found in this lay...”
Susie, Santa Barbara - September 15, 2021
“Can a mineral such as jasper which is composed mostly of Si, morph into something that is composed mostly of Ca?”
Ken, Ventura - March 31, 2021
“I found a piece of, what appears to be, petrified wood on a Santa Barbara beach agaist the cliffs. Is this a piece that the museum would be interested in given I obtain proper permissions to retrieve?...”
Ted, Santa Barbara - March 13, 2021
“While beach combing one day, we found a large rock that looked rusted, and when we picked it up it was very heavy. A few chucks of the outer layer fell off and revealed a metallic interior. We brought...”
B Vigil, Carpinteria, CA - February 21, 2021
“Hi! I'm wondering if you can tell me about the age and possible origin of this fossil which we found when digging in our yard in the Ojai valley. It cracked open along the fossil line when it was hit...”
Rose, Ojai, CA - November 28, 2020
“I found this while digging in a creek bed on our property ( Cold Spring area) My question is, "what is it?"
Thank you for your time.”
David, Cold Spring area, Montecito - November 12, 2020
“I know that garnets come in several different colors but I'm not too sure about all of the different shapes these stones are found in. You can pick most of these up with a typical magnet. ”
Ken, Ventura - September 21, 2020
“Hello,
A few months ago I came upon this very odd looking coastal rock formation that I initially mistook to be a rotted piece of old driftwood. But examining it closer, saw it is pure stone. Could i...”
Todd Cook, Wilmore, KY - September 16, 2020
“Were building on the Mesa and dug up a sea shell fossil. I'm wondering if you can tell me more aboiut it. I have attached an image but am happy to bring it over if you would like.
Kind regards,
Lyn...”
Lynn, the Mesa in Santa Barbara - August 31, 2020
“I found shells in a rock face on Vandenberg Air Force Base. Are these considered fossils? Thank you”
Jacob - February 23, 2020
“I found this six inch long vertebrae fossil on a slope near Buellton, any idea what it could be from?”
Chad, Santa Barbara - January 28, 2020
“HI! I found this before ten years. Is it possible to identify if it is an egg?”
Dimitrios, Greece - January 27, 2020
“I have no idea what these rocks are. I need help in identifying.”
Linda Schmidt, Whitewater, Kansas - November 9, 2019