Daviess County: Fossil Hunting in Daviess County, Missouri

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Daviess County

State

Missouri

Nearest road

215th Street

Postcode

64640

Coordinates

39.96534, -93.99745

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: Search public and navigable stream gravels and gravel bars, including Grand River bars, below the ordinary high-water mark, where the public easement permits access on Missouri streams. County road ditches and gravel-road cuts that cross drift deposits are also worth scanning from public right-of-way. Get landowner permission before entering fields or banks, and surface-collect by hand.

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 Daviess County

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 87°F in midsummer and 35°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 16°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, GALLATIN 1W station (4 mi away), adjusted for elevation.

Geology at Daviess County

This spot sits on Kansas City Group, mapped as limestone and shale that formed roughly 325 to 300 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

Kansas City Group

Age

325–300 Ma (Pennsylvanian)

Rock types

limestone and shale

Elevation

720 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.

• Missouri Geological Survey
• Mark Twain National Forest
• Missouri State Parks rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules