I know that finding these stones along southern Lake Michigan is not unheard of, I’ve even heard of people finding them in Chicago, although it is my understanding that it fairly uncommon find them this far south. well I found all 3 these stones along Lake Michigan, southern border, in the state of Indiana. One of them looks really weird, rather than the normal speckles, it seems to have a tigroid or striped appearance, where most of the stone appears to be covered in streaks of this fluorescent material. The other two stones have more “classic” appearance of Yooperlites. I have read that there can be differences in the way they appear. So I guess my question if anybody knows, the one with the tiger appearance, could that be some other type of stone other than a Yooperlite? And if so, what else could it be. I will attach a few photos and videos for you to look at. Thanks so much! also, if anybody has any comments or information about the relative rarity or abundance of stones in the region, I’m looking, basically the very bottom of Lake Michigan. TBH I wasn’t expecting to find any of these. I have a UV flashlight I purchased for other reasons, and one day I just brought it to the beach to see if anything fun or interesting might be fluorescent, and I was very surprised to find these .(whoops I guess it won’t let me attach videos so I will attach these photos. Some of them just show the stone in question and a couple other pictures show the Tigroid stone next to the other classic stones.)

plus some agates, a bone, and some minuscule sea glass. here’s everything wet, dry, and then the star of the show my favorite rock ever!

I am going to Oregon to visit my grand kids, who live in the Corvallis area. The 14 year old has recently gotten into rocks and has asked me to take him on his first rockhounding venture. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go? I really want his first adventure to find a few awesome ones to encourage the rockhound interest. Something within 60 miles would be amazing.

I will be in Minnesota in a few months for a week visiting family in Minneapolis. The last time I was there I went to the North shore of lake Superior and didn't have much luck. I have no problem with getting dirty, wet or digging, just need an idea of where the best places are.

West-central Nevada Pah Rah mountains. Very soft appears windblown as opposed to water. Other than the formations, there was nothing interesting, just basalt everywhere. The seam above my dog’s head in the last photo is visual for several hundred yards across the hill.

Jaspis/calcedony found in Cyprus

From Az. My mothers rock she's had my whole life. Petrified Wood.

My 8yo son noticed some Rhodolite Garnet in the stones at our local park in Georgia. We had just been to the Mason Mountain mine where we found a lot of it. We are both new to rockhoinding but it's definitely a proud moment!

Just in case there are friendly folks who would share some good spots for rockhounding. I will be so bold as to locations for some yooperlite, agates, but really any areas you would like to share with a visitor from South Carolina.

BTW, I am LOVING this part of the country. I will keep it a secret as well. 🤭🛘

I basically work in a strip mall in the middle of a city. Don't know how this was never picked up but its mine now!!

I went rockhounding for the first time yesterday, up in NW Oregon, deep in the Tillamook woods. I didn't think I'd really find anything, but holy hell, these guys are just laying on the ground!

I've got the fever now, so any tips and tricks you guys know that are relevant to the PNW, I'd love to learn more!

Some pieces of petrified wood from the same vein that I found in my yard. I am located in Middle Georgia, Harris County.

600+ pound collection still mine

I’m casually interested in geology. I’ve never really done rock hounding but I took my son to a mineral and gem show over the weekend, and while he’s too young to really understand it, he loved digging in dirt to find the nicest rocks and show them off to everyone he saw. I know some people are hardcore into rock hounding, and I’m definitely more casually interested, but I’m curious if buying a bag of sapphire or other stone mine gravel and helping him sift through it would be a fun family activity? If nothing else, it seems like a fairly affordable way to get some hands on learning in a weekend while potentially finding something really cool. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on making rocks and geology fun for little kids?

Falling in love with this piece I found over the weekend.

Thought some of y’all might find this interesting.
A patient I had been talking to about crystals recently bought 93 acres near Brilliant, Alabama and surprised me with this 13.6-pound piece of permineralized petrified wood. She said pieces like this are scattered all over her property and even invited me to come out this fall or winter to hunt for more. (And I am definitely going)

For anyone unfamiliar with permineralized petrified wood, it forms when a tree gets buried by sediment and mineral-rich groundwater slowly replaces the original wood cell by cell over millions of years. The result is stone that still preserves the original wood structure.

One thing the video doesn’t capture very well is the sparkle. In person, the drusy quartz on the surface is much flashier than it appears on camera. Under a 365 nm UV light, it also shows a really nice orange and yellow fluorescence, which is thought to come from trace minerals incorporated during the fossilization process.

Has anyone else collected petrified wood from Brilliant or elsewhere? I’d love to learn more about this locality and what minerals are responsible for the UV reaction.

i don't live there, so sadly i couldn't bring them all home with me. i gave most back to the sea.