Where to Find Chert in Missouri
Missouri has 7 mapped collecting spots that report chert, spread across 6 counties. The largest share sits in Benton County with 2 spots. 7 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.
Every chert spot we track in Missouri
Best spotLincolnBenton County, MissouriPublic access · Chalcedony, Chert, Mozarkite +2
Best spotWarsawBenton County, MissouriPublic access · Agate, Chert, Mozarkite
Best spotElk River near Bee BluffMcDonald County, MissouriPublic access · Chert, Blue Chert
Old MinesWashington County, MissouriPublic access · Barite, Calcite, Galena +6
DexterNew Madrid County, MissouriPublic access · Chert, Blue Agate, Gray Agate +2
GreenfieldDade County, MissouriPublic access · Agate, Chert, Petrified Wood
HermitageHickory County, MissouriPublic access · Chalcedony, Chert
Standout chert spots in Missouri
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Lincoln
Benton County
Lincoln sits at the heart of the mozarkite country in Benton County, the source of Missouri's official state rock, a multicolored gem chert that weathers out of the Mississippian Burlington and Warsaw limestones.
Warsaw
Benton County
Warsaw anchors the southern end of the Benton County mozarkite belt and sits on the Harry S. Truman Reservoir, where falling lake levels expose chert and mozarkite cobbles along the shoreline.
Elk River near Bee Bluff
McDonald County
The Elk River in McDonald County is a clear, floatable Ozark stream whose gravel bars are packed with colorful Mississippian chert, including the locally prized blue and gray banded chert weathered from the surrounding Boone Formation.
Best counties for chert in Missouri
Ranked by the number of mapped chert spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
- Benton County2 spots
- Dade County1 spot
- Hickory County1 spot
- McDonald County1 spot
- New Madrid County1 spot
- Washington County1 spot
Before you go
Read the chert identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Chert in the encyclopedia.
