Gothenburg: Petrified Palm Wood Rockhounding in Dawson County, Nebraska

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Dawson County

State

Nebraska

Nearest road

Willow Island Road

Postcode

69171

Coordinates

40.90090, -100.14600

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: Most of the productive ground is private farmland and river gravel. Nebraska's Platte River is legally non-navigable, so the bed and bars belong to the adjacent landowners: collect only at public access points and road crossings, or get permission first. Active gravel pits are private and require the operator's permission (often ask-only or pay). Do not enter posted land.

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 Gothenburg

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: March to November. Typical highs run 88°F in midsummer and 39°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 16°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, GOTHENBURG station (3 mi away).

Geology at Gothenburg

This spot sits on Ogallala Group or Formation, mapped as siltstone mudstone and conglomerate sandstone that formed roughly 23 to 5 million years ago. Sedimentary beds like these are the typical host for petrified and silicified wood, which weathers out as durable float on slopes and in washes.

Mapped unit

Ogallala Group or Formation

Age

23–5 Ma (Miocene)

Rock types

siltstone mudstone and conglomerate sandstone

Elevation

2,560 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.

• Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands
• Conservation and Survey Division, University of Nebraska
• Nebraska Game and Parks rules
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules