Demopolis (Black Belt): Fossil Hunting in Marengo County, Alabama

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Marengo County

State

Alabama

Coordinates

32.51800, -87.83600

Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground in the RockHoundR app, where land overlays show which agency manages the area.

Land & collecting status

Generally open to casual rockhounding

Most public-tagged spots sit on BLM, U.S. Forest Service, or other federal land where reasonable hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed. Confirm posted rules and active mining claims before you dig.

Access note: The Cretaceous chalk of the Black Belt is exposed in creek banks and bluffs that are mostly private, so collecting there requires landowner permission; the famous Shark Tooth Creek near Aliceville is a private appointment-only site. Loose shark teeth and marine fossils can also be surface collected from navigable-river gravel bars below the ordinary high water mark at public accesses on the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers. Vertebrate fossils such as mosasaur and whale bone are protected, and the state fossil Basilosaurus may not be removed without written state approval.

Public-land rules vary by agency, season, and field office. The RockHoundR app pulls live BLM, USFS, NPS, and tribal overlays so you can see exactly which agency manages the ground at this spot.

Best time to visit Demopolis (Black Belt)

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: September to June. Typical highs run 92°F in midsummer and 57°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 34°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, DEMOPOLIS L&D station (3 mi away).

Geology at Demopolis (Black Belt)

This spot sits on Selma Group; Demopolis Chalk, mapped as chalk that formed roughly 145 to 66 million years ago. Limestone like this typically forms in ancient seas, so marine fossils such as brachiopods, corals, and crinoids tend to weather out of fresh exposures.

Mapped unit

Selma Group; Demopolis Chalk

Age

145–66 Ma (Cretaceous)

Rock types

chalk

Elevation

120 ft

Geologic mapping via Macrostrat and the underlying state geological survey maps (CC BY 4.0). Bedrock at the surface can vary within a mapped unit.

Sources & verification

Spot details combine the public RockHoundR location dataset, normalized mineral labels, agency land-status checks in the app, and community submissions. Coordinates are approximate until verified in the field.

• Geological Survey of Alabama
• National Forests in Alabama
• Alabama State Parks rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules