A stick is handy for scratching around in the top layer of soil. The best time to look for fossils is after a heavy rain, when pieces of shell and fossil may be exposed in the soil.
They are also a practical tool in the correlation of sedimentary rock layers from one area to another, which is an important part of exploring for petroleum and understanding the underground "plumbing" of groundwater systems.įossils can be fun to collect and interesting to study for the amateur, but they also tell geologists about the history of the world and how it was formed.
Fossils are of great use to geologists in understanding what the earth was like in the distant past and how life has changed through time. Jackson: American Geological Institute, Alexandria, VA) defines a fossil as âany remains, trace, or imprint of a plant or animal that has been preserved in the earthâs crust since some past geologic or prehistoric time.â The field of geology involving the study of fossils is called paleontology. The Glossary of Geology (Glossary of Geology, 4th edition, 1997, Edited by Julia A.
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