Iowa Collecting Sites
Iowa Collecting Sites
The Geological Society of Iowa has produced an series of guidebooks covering virtually all aspects of Iowa's field geology. They comprise the most comprehensive set of guidebooks available for Iowa. All guidebooks are in print and available at a nominal cost.
Muddy Creek near Lowell, Iowa
Geodes
Source: Connie Williams
pisces@accessnv.com
I got them from a creek bed along the Muddy Creek in Henry County near Lowell, Iowa on April 30th, 1995. That's about all there is to tell.
35 Mile Radius Surrounding Keokuk, Iowa
Geodes
Source: Rocks-and-Fossils Mailing List 6/12/95
Donna Curtis
SM0071%SPRINGB.SIUCVMB@SIUCVMB.SIU.EDU
Iowa named the geode their state rock in 1967. The prime hunting location for
geodes is in a 35-mile radius of Keokuk, Iowa, and they range in size from 2 to
6 inches in diameter, although some as large as 30 inches have been found.
About twenty different minerals have been found in the Keokuk geodes with
quartz being the most common. Calcite and pyrite are also found and often there
are attractive combinations of several minerals. The geodes are found in
certain layers of the Mississippian age Warsaw Formation, where they
weather out of the host shaley dolomite and limestone. Southeastern Iowa is
the home of Geode State Park, named for these unusual specimens.
from State Stones and Other State Symbols, Donna Curtis and Diane Dare, 1993.
bkeller@rockhounds.com 8/17/95
