Time Duration in recognizing a rock

[kevinbybirth]

I just want to ask when you are outside and identifying a rock, how much time you consume in doing this? Assuming in minutes or hours. thanks

 

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[willjo]

If it is not Coastal plain chert, Rhyolite or Quartz I just pick it up because it is pretty for the rock tumbler and don't worry what is.

 

[OwenT]

I don't know if it would ever take hours to identify a rock, nor would it probably ever be worthwhile to spend hours on it.

 

[Zee]

For me... a matter of seconds.... I don't "identify" every rock I pick up. Its pretty basic, just takes some expierience, gotta go out and do it... take the interesting ones home, if you don't know what they are find out then.

 

[Eu_citzen]

*When prospecting* I do collect rock chips and ID them all, to make a basic (geological) map. (and also to my notes)
It may take everything from a minute up to several hours; depending on how many chips/rocks I did bring back.

When rockhounding, a couple of seconds or minutes. Usually because that ends up being just a few rocks.

 

[ice9]

Seconds to years. With enough time and study, identifying minerals becomes very simple, at least for the common stuff. When you start collecting the unusual stuff, then you need to understand crystallography and other important properties, then you get into lab testing, $10-$40 a pop.

Identifying rocks and fossils is much the same, but to actually be able to put a proper name on a rock, or identify the exact species of fossil, you may have to make a thin section and view it under a polarizing microscope, comparing it to known images.

The key to getting good is buying books, so you know exactly what is found in your area, and then just spending thousands of hours actually studying rocks and minerals. Millions of hours of research work has already been done for you, all you have to do is find the right reference.