Midwest Gem Fossil and Mineral Trails : Prairie States [Paperback]

June Culp Zeitner (Author), Zeitner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998 | ISBN-10: 0935182942 | ISBN-13: 978-0935182941 | Edition: Revised

Midwest, Gem, Fossil and Mineral Trails: Prairie States, is an indispensable guide for any rockhound collecting in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas or Missouri. For the rock hobbyist, lapidary, and fossil enthusiast these states have much to offer. Lake Superior agates are widespread. Magnificent fossils occur in each state. Superb crystals of quartz, calcite, pyrite, marcasite, dolomite, celestite, selenite sphalerite, and barite are not difficult to come by. There are also numerous rare minerals, which provide an extra thrill for the field collector. This updated edition describes where and what to collect, how to hunt on our own, and where to get more information and additional help in each state. Helpful hints for collecting minerals, gem materials, and invertebrate fossils are highlighted by an author who has collected in these states for over 50 years. An essential guide for the beginning and experienced collector alike. Midwest, Gem, Fossil, and Mineral Trails: Prairie States highlights the best of the region in one handy volume. END

Product Details

• Paperback: 127 pages
• Publisher: Gem Guides Book Co; Revised edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935182942
• ISBN-13: 978-0935182941
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,515,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It's a great book if you're just out for a drive, October 3, 2002

By 

John De Ryckere (Eau Claire, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Midwest Gem Fossil and Mineral Trails : Prairie States (Paperback)

I tried to make use of this book over the summer. It seems like its a collection of peoples descriptions rather than a collection of trails that the author has taken. At first glance it seemed like it would be very useful but when you actually try to make use of the directions you quickly realize that this is not true.

Directions start off fuzzy and then get worse. For instance, a direction might say drive 8 miles west of Custer South Dakota. Fine, at first glance this useful until you start questioning where in Custer this starting point is. This adds a couple of miles of uncertainty to the starting point. Instead she should have written something such as "Start by going west down US-12 until you reach mile marker 82. This will be about 8 miles."

If this doesn't throw you off you'll then be faced with directions such as follow a forest road to the right. Given the couple miles of uncertainty this is also a useless instruction. Even if you could precisely nail down the starting location its still not useful if there are multiple nearby roads. Roads in general have names. "You are looking for Forest Road B112, also known as Bumpkin Peak Road. It will appear on the right."

The directions become extremely vague after this. No distances are given or even a look to the left or right. I travelled up many interesting forest roads but didn't really get much useful instructions from the book. A couple of trails were accurate, most were hopelessly inaccurate. I had a good time, but may as well have taken forest roads at random.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Blessing, and A Curse., January 13, 2002

By 

David Fields (Lincoln, Nebraska United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midwest Gem Fossil and Mineral Trails : Prairie States (Paperback)

If you're looking for a book that will pinpoint accurately areas of the State of Nebraska that you will find fossil and mineral "goodies" then you've found the wrong book. Many of the areas pinpointed in here have been exploited badly by amature geologists, and have had their resources exhausted. However, the book does give hints on where to look for minerals and fossils, and it is possible once you have experience in searching for these things that you will find them. You'll have to use your experience and wits.

Books like this are a blessing and a curse. A blessing for those starting out in the hobby and looking for places in the field to find the samples they are looking for. A curse because many people (especially those in the commercial area of our hobby) will exploit these findings for their own pocketbooks, and ruin the resources that the author has pointed out for the weekend hobbiest. It is unfortunate, in the case of this book, that that is exactly what has happened in Nebraska.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting..., June 6, 2009

By 

D. Irish (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Midwest Gem Fossil and Mineral Trails: Prairie States (Paperback)

The good: The book is very informational; no doubt about that. It has excellent listings of the stones for the regions the book covers. It describes and shows what one should look for when out "hunting".

The bad: The directions leave something to desired. You can tell the author knew what she was talking about, but needed to provide more detail. Another slightly negative is the time frame which written in relation to now. My copy was printed in 1989 - I haven't been out in the field with it yet (I plan to) but I'm sure quite a bit has changed since then.

Buyer beware but for the price of used copies on here, you really can't go wrong.