Glossary Category: Navigation & Trip Planning

Rockhound navigation and trip planning terms used by rockhounds to locate collecting areas, understand land access, interpret maps, and safely plan field trips. Covers mapping tools, land ownership concepts, route planning, and practical preparation for collecting trips.

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Abandoned Site Collecting

Access Easement

An access easement is a legal right to cross or use part of someone else’s land. For collectors, it can determine whether you can reach a public parcel without trespassing.

Acid Test

Applying dilute acid to see if a mineral fizzes (effervesces), indicating carbonate content; commonly used to distinguish calcite and other carbonates from look‑alikes.

Amber

Fully fossilized tree resin that hardened through polymerization over millions of years.

Asterism

A star-shaped light pattern (often 4 or 6 rays) produced by oriented inclusions; typically visible on cabochon-cut stones and used as a descriptive/valuing feature.

Bag-and-Tag Routine

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

Bearing and Azimuth Note

A direction note (compass bearing/azimuth) that tells you where you moved or which way a feature trends.

Bedding

Layering produced during deposition; bedding style affects how rocks split and where fossils and textures are preserved.

Bedding Orientation Note

A quick record of how a layered rock unit tilts and trends at the spot you’re collecting.

Bedding Plane

The natural surface between sediment layers; bedding planes often split easily and preserve fossils or trackways.
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