Gentry County: Fossil Hunting in Gentry County, Missouri

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Gentry County

State

Missouri

Coordinates

40.20774, -94.37543

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: Work public and navigable stream gravels and gravel bars below the high-water mark, plus gravel-road cuts through drift on public right-of-way. As with the other drift counties, banks and fields are typically private, so collect from the streambed or ask permission. Hand collecting only, no motorized equipment.

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 Gentry County

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 88°F in midsummer and 35°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 15°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, ALBANY station (4 mi away).

Geology at Gentry 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

840 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