Glossary Category: Collecting Techniques

Label and bag each find immediately with a unique number and micro-location so specimens never lose provenance in the field.

A boulder field sweep is a systematic scan across a boulder-strewn area, checking cracks, shaded sides, and contact points where material collects.

Concentrate reprocessing means running your saved concentrate again—often with a finer screen or slower technique—to recover what was missed the first time.

Dry Washing is a field method collectors use when dry washing fits the geology, tools, and access rules at a site. It affects what you can recover, how clean the material is, and how much disturbance the method creates.

A secondary sample taken from the same location for backup or comparison.

A durable on-site label that stays with the specimen or bag from the moment it’s collected.

Loose rock or mineral material transported from its source by erosion or water; rockhounds use float patterns to locate nearby outcrops and veins.

Float Tracing is a field method collectors use when float tracing fits the geology, tools, and access rules at a site. It affects what you can recover, how clean the material is, and how much disturbance the method creates.

High Grading is a field method that helps collectors evaluate where material occurs before investing time and tools. Used well, high grading improves repeatability and reduces wasted effort.

An inside bend scan focuses on point bars and low-energy deposits where heavier pieces and fossils often settle during normal flow.